COLUMBUS, Ohio — Democrat Sherrod Brown leads Republican Sen. Jon Husted in two new polls of Ohio voters, but the surveys differ in their samples and methods, making the results a snapshot rather than a definitive forecast of the Nov. 3 special election. A Suffolk University poll conducted for USA Today found Brown ahead 47% to 44% among likely voters. The poll’s margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points, and 6% of respondents were undecided. Among independent voters, Brown led 58% to 33%. A Marist University survey of registered voters put Brown’s lead at eight points, 51% to 43%. Half of respondents said they expected Brown to win, compared with 47% who predicted a Husted victory. That expectation differs from a recent Bowling Green State University poll, which found that 53% expected Husted to win even as Brown led among likely voters. Suffolk interviewed 500 likely voters by phone from Sept. 23 to 27 and reported a 4.4-point margin of error. Marist surveyed 1,298 registered voters from Sept. 24 to 27 using telephone interviews, text messages and online responses; its margin of error was 3.8 points. Because the polls surveyed different groups and used different approaches, their results should not be compared as if they were identical measures. The surveys also point to dissatisfaction with the national political climate. In the Suffolk poll, 57% viewed Trump unfavorably and 37% favorably. Nearly half, 49%, said they wanted their November vote to change the country’s direction under Trump, while 29% wanted to support that direction. Marist found that 56% disapproved of Trump’s job performance and 42% approved. Forty-one percent said their congressional vote would mainly be against Trump; 25% said it would be for him. Economic unease also registered in the Marist survey: 41% said their personal finances had worsened over the past year, while 19% said they had improved. On the generic congressional ballot, Democrats led Republicans 50% to 47%. Brown served in the U.S. Senate from 2007 until 2025, when he lost his reelection bid to Republican Bernie Moreno. Husted, Ohio’s former lieutenant governor, was appointed to the Senate by Gov. Mike DeWine after J.D. Vance left the seat to become vice president. The special-election winner will serve the remainder of Vance’s term, which ends in January 2029. The Suffolk poll found Brown’s favorability at 47% and unfavorability at 44%. Husted was viewed favorably by 44% and unfavorably by 50%.