俄亥俄州提前投票开局：民主党热情高涨，连特朗普铁票仓也收窄
据路透社与CNN报道，俄亥俄州2026年中期选举提前投票本周启动，早期投票数据显示民主党选民投票热情明显高于两年前，连最支持特朗普的县也出现松动迹象。
据路透社10月6日报道，提前投票首日天还没亮，选民就在麦地那县（Medina County）选举委员会门前排起长队。83岁的退休老人埃迪·圣约翰（Eddie St. John）排在第三位，他表示最希望新政府解决的是经济问题：“什么都贵得买不起了，样样都涨，油价越来越糟。”接受采访的共和党、民主党与独立选民普遍表示，厌倦了他们认为具有欺骗性与攻击性的政治广告，痛恨与伊朗的战争，也痛恨长期化的通货膨胀。
据CNN对州务卿数据的分析，在2024年以20个百分点以上支持特朗普的县，共和党在提前投票选民中的领先优势已从两年前的30个百分点缩小到仅5个百分点；整体提前投票选民结构比2024年同期偏向民主党约27个百分点。
分析同时提醒，党派登记数据不能揭示选民具体投给谁，且共和党人近年更倾向于提前亲自投票或选举日投票——民主党在提前投票中的优势可能收窄。即便如此，两党策略师都表示，数字显示出有利于民主党的热情差。
今年俄亥俄州的联邦参议员选举（前参议员谢罗德·布朗对阵现任参议员乔恩·赫斯特德）与州长选举（民主党人艾米·阿克顿对阵共和党人维韦克·拉马斯瓦米）都被视为关键之战，可能影响参议院控制权归属与这个摇摆州的走向。提前投票将持续到11月3日选举日前的周末。
Early Voting in Ohio Shows Democratic Enthusiasm, Even in Trump Country
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Early voting in Ohio's 2026 midterm elections is showing clear signs of Democratic enthusiasm, with affiliated Democrats making up larger shares of pre-election voters than two years ago — even in the state's most Republican counties, according to Reuters and CNN.
Voters started lining up while it was still dark on the first day of early voting at the Medina County Board of Elections, Reuters reported Oct. 6. Third in line was 83-year-old Eddie St. John of Wadsworth, who said the economy was his top concern: "You can't afford nothing anymore. Everything's so high. Gas is getting worse all the time." Registered Republicans, Democrats and independents interviewed all voiced exhaustion with political ads they see as deceptive and mean, hatred of the U.S. war with Iran and chronic inflation.
CNN's analysis of Ohio Secretary of State data found that in counties that voted for Trump by 20 points or more, Republicans' lead among early voters has shrunk from 30 percentage points at this point in 2024 to just five points. The overall early electorate is about 27 points more Democratic than at the same point in 2024.
Analysts cautioned that party registration data doesn't reveal who voters marked their ballots for, and Republicans in recent years have been more likely to vote early in person or on Election Day — meaning the Democratic edge in early returns could narrow. Still, strategists in both parties said the numbers suggest an enthusiasm gap favoring Democrats.
Ohio's U.S. Senate race — former Sen. Sherrod Brown against Sen. Jon Husted — and the governor's race between Democrat Amy Acton and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy could help determine control of the Senate and the direction of the battleground state. Early voting continues through the weekend before Election Day on Nov. 3.
图片来源：图：俄亥俄州议会大厦（哥伦布）。摄影：Honavery，来源：Wikimedia Commons
