Check back throughout the evening for updates about these important races in Ohio. Up-to-the-minute results powered by DDHQ are below. You can sort by race (governor, U.S. Senate, and attorney general) and county. For all races across the U.S., click here.
Update 11:10: DDHQ has called the Ohio Senate race for J.D. Vance by a margin of 53-46. Ohio can breathe a sigh of relief that Democrats were unable to flip the Senate seat vacated by Rob Portman. Fox News is reporting that Tim Ryan has conceded.
Update 10:03 p.m.: Republican J.D. Vance has taken the lead in Ohio. 50.84-49.16. However, only 17% of the votes have been counted in uber-blue Cuyahoga County. Stay tuned.
Update 9:34 p.m.: DDHQ has called the Ohio governor’s race for Republican Mike DeWine. In the Senate race, J.D. Vance has taken the lead, but just barely: 50.84-49.16 with 46% of the vote in.
Update 8:02 p.m.: Tim Ryan is leading Vance 64-39, although, it should be noted, blue counties seem to be coming in faster than red ones. Democrat gubernatorial candidate Nan Whaley is also leading Gov. DeWine.
Original article:
Ohio has long been considered a “battleground state,” but it has been more or less solidly red in recent years, with the exception of major Democrat strongholds like Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati. Republicans have held a majority in the state Senate since the 1990s, and in the House, they’ve maintained control for all but two years. The GOP has also controlled every statewide office for years, the last Democrat governor being Ted Strickland in the early 2000s.
It should be a no-brainer to expect that Ohio’s U.S. Senate seats would be held by Republicans, but that’s not the case. Because of the disproportionate influence of Democrat-dominated cities (an argument for getting rid of direct elections of senators), the Buckeye State has been saddled with Sen. Sherrod Brown since 2007. With the retirement of Republican Rob Portman, Ohioans will go to the polls today to determine whether entrepreneur and Hillbilly Elegy author J.D. Vance or Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan will succeed him.
The two have been neck and neck since the onset of the campaign, but Vance has pulled ahead in recent weeks. The RealClearPolitics average has Vance up by eight points.
Related: J.D. Vance Fries Tim Ryan in Extra Crispy New ‘Breakfast’ Ad
Governor Mike DeWine is up for re-election and will face hardcore leftist Nan Whaley. He’s been ahead by double digits for months, so this race should be a blowout. Curiously, much of DeWine’s support comes from Democrats who were happy with his COVID-19 lockdown policies. He was actually booed several times at a Trump rally in Ohio on Monday. Nevertheless, this will not be a competitive race.
Also up for re-election is Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose. His opponents are Chelsea Clark, a Democrat, and Terpsehore Maras, a Republican who is running as an independent. LaRose should do well today, but having a third-party candidate definitely creates the possibility of splitting the vote and handing the election to the Democrat.
There are very few competitive House races in Ohio. CD-1 is one exception. Incumbent Republican Rep. Steve Chabot faces off against Greg Landsman, a member of the Cincinnati City Council. While Chabot won his last race by seven points, this race is considered a toss-up. Trump won the district by three percentage points in 2020, but the boundaries were changed as a result of redistricting, making it more competitive for Democrats. Even though the Ohio Supreme Court ruled the new map unconstitutional, it will be used for this election because the decision was made after the primaries were completed. Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball has the race as Leans R, as does RealClearPolitics; the Cook Political Report has it listed as a toss-up.
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