Poll: Ohio voters are backing Donald Trump; Sen. Sherrod Brown in tight race in 2024

Ohio will help determine which party gains control of the U.S. Senate in 2024, but it's poised to play a much smaller role in the race for president, according to a new poll.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown maintained a slight edge over his potential Republican opponents as he heads into a contentious reelection bid, according to a USA TODAY Network/Suffolk University poll released Tuesday. The same survey showed Ohioans once again supporting former President Donald Trump over President Joe Biden in a 2024 rematch.

The poll of 500 likely Ohio voters, conducted July 9-12, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

The results underscore what's expected to be a competitive race for Brown as he seeks a fourth term in office. Brown is one of few Democrats nationwide defending his seat in a state carried by Trump in 2020, prompting political analysts to label the race a tossup. At the same time, Browns' defenders − and even his critics − say he's a formidable politician with deep connections in Ohio.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose, state Sen. Matt Dolan, R-Chagrin Falls, and Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno are running for the GOP nomination.

Brown performed best against Moreno in a potential matchup, with 48% supporting Brown and 41% backing Moreno. The senator got 46% of the vote against Dolan, who did slightly better than Moreno at 43%. LaRose, who is best known among the GOP candidates, trailed Brown by just 0.4 percentage points.

Pollsters surveyed GOP voters on the primary candidates, but the results were inconclusive. Public opinion will likely shift in the coming months as the campaigns heat up and attract more attention.

Meanwhile, half of the those polled approved of Brown's performance as senator, compared to roughly 29% who disapproved. Twenty percent of voters were undecided.

Ohio likely to go red in 2024 presidential race

While Ohio's Senate seat is a tossup, the same can't be said for the 2024 presidential race. Candidates stopped treating Ohio as a swing state after Republicans dominated recent statewide elections.

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Trump led Biden 44% to 38% in a potential matchup including Green Party candidate Cornel West, according to the poll. The former president won Ohio by 8 percentage points in 2016 and 2020, and the results indicate he remains popular despite his recent indictments.

Trump maintained a more comfortable lead over Biden than Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Biden trailed DeSantis by just 2 percentage points, which is within the poll’s margin of error.

About 54% of Ohioans disapproved of the president's job performance, while 41% supported him.

And 62% of voters haven't heard of Vivek Ramaswamy, the Ohio native running for president. Ramaswamy jumped to third place in a recent Iowa poll of Republican candidates, but he still faces an unlikely path to victory.

Ramaswamy is a Cincinnati-area native who lives near Columbus.

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Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Ohio Senate race 2024: Voters back Sherrod Brown, Trump early in race