Alert

Nov 7, 2018

2018 Ohio Mid-Term Election Wrap-Up

Ohio’s reputation as a contentious swing state did not disappoint in the mid-term election.  Yesterday’s federal and state elections revealed that Republicans maintained control of all five statewide offices, including the governor’s race, as well as the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate. Democrats picked up two Ohio Supreme Court seats, and democratic U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown won his bid for re-election. Additionally, all members of Ohio’s congressional delegation won re-election.

Below are the outcomes from Election Day:

Ohio Governor/Lt. Governor

Mike DeWine/Jon Husted (R) – Current Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) defeated Richard Cordray (D) in yesterday’s highly contested gubernatorial election.  Governor-Elect DeWine has a long history of public service including serving in the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives, Ohio Senate, and as Lieutenant Governor under Ohio Governor George Voinovich.  Jon Husted also brings a wealth of experience, as Ohio’s current Secretary of State and the former 99^th Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives.

The DeWine-Husted administration’s vision for the future of Ohio includes:

• Jobs and Economy: Train more people with in-demand skills by establishing reginal job-training partnerships with local businesses, education providers, and community leaders.

• Opioid Crisis: Enact a 12-point comprehensive action plan to help Ohio overcome the drug problem, which includes creating at least 60 drug courts and empowering employers to help employees with substance abuse disorder to seek treatment while remaining employed as well as encouraging employers to hire employees in recovery by offering incentives and reducing risks.

• Education: Reduce testing and focus on learning, increase access to technology, have more vocational education opportunities, and make college more affordable.

• Healthcare: Guarantee coverage for pre-existing conditions, reduce healthcare costs, implement a wellness program, and support a reasonable work requirement for individuals on Medicaid Expansion who are healthy and able to work.

• Innovating State Government: Improve procurement by opening up the bidding process to encourage more participation, cheaper costs, and more public accountability and allow local governments to benefit from state pricing. In addition, modernize paper-to-digital records by using block chain technology to create secure digital records and improve convenience.

• Early Childhood Development: Improve access to increase the quality of early childhood education services, increase home visiting services for at-risk, first time mothers to give them tools they need to promote child development and school readiness, provide a mental health professional in every Ohio school, and reform the foster care system in Ohio.

• Law Enforcement: Support a state-of-the-art crime lab, focus on fighting illegal drugs and crimes against children unit, and create enhanced law enforcement training opportunities.

• Energy: Supports coal mining and the use of “clean coal” and will support programs to help coal workers, and others in mining-related jobs to learn new skills. Supports alternative energy options, including nuclear and natural gas, and will create policies to assist with developing an energy grid that includes renewable energy.*

Gubernatorial policy initiatives found on: https://www.mikedewine.com/

Ohio Attorney General

Dave Yost (R), Ohio’s current Auditor of State, won the election against former federal prosecutor Steve Dettelbach (D), to become the next Attorney General.

Ohio Secretary of State

Current State Senator Frank LaRose (R) beat out current State Representative Kathleen Clyde (D) to become the next Secretary of State.

Ohio State Auditor

Former Congressman Zack Space (D) lost his bid for State Auditor against current State Representative, and former President of the Ohio Senate, Keith Faber (R).

Ohio State Treasurer

Current State Representative Robert Sprague (R) defeated Rob Richardson (D), University of Cincinnati Board Trustee, to become the next State Treasurer.

Highlighted text denotes winner.

* indicates incumbent.

Note: At time of publication, one Ohio House race and one Ohio Senate race were too close to call.

U.S. Senate – Across the country, 33 out of 100 U.S. Senate seats were up for election, with Republicans maintaining control of the U.S. Senate. Ohio’s current U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, who has served in the U.S. Senate since 2007, handily defeated his challenger, Congressman Jim Renacci, by 53-47%.  

U.S. Congress – Each of the 435 U.S. House seats were up for election, to include Ohio’s 16 Congressional seats. All of Ohio’s Congressional incumbents won their bid for re-election. Ohio had one open Congressional seat, which was won by Republican candidate Anthony Gonzales, former National Football League wide receiver, who defeated his Democratic opponent, Susan Moran Palmer.

Prior to the election, Republicans held 245 seats and Democrats held 193 seats. After yesterday's midterm, the Democrats took control of the U.S. House by at least 26 seats, which could increase even further because 23 Congressional races have not yet been called. 

Ohio House of Representatives – All 99 members of the Ohio House of Representatives were up for election this year. The Ohio House elections proved to be highly competitive in many districts, particularly in central Ohio. Prior to the election, Republicans held 66 seats and Democrats held 33 seats. Although the Republicans retained their majority, they lost four seats, with an additional seat still being too close to call at the time of publication.

A vote amongst the newly elected Ohio House of Representatives will occur in the next several weeks to pick the next Ohio House Speaker. The contested Speakership race is between current Ohio House Speaker Ryan Smith and former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder.

Ohio Senate – Half of the Ohio Senate, or 17 of 33 seats, were up for election. Just like the Ohio House of Representatives, the Ohio Senate election proved to be contentious in several districts. Prior to the election, Republicans held 24 seats and Democrats held 9 seats. After yesterday’s election, the Republicans maintained their majority and gained an additional seat, however there is one Senate seat that is still too close to call. 

Unlike the House, the Senate will not be electing a new Senate President, as Senate President Larry Obhof has two years left in his term. However, Senator Gayle Manning, who serves as the Senate Majority Whip, has moved to the Ohio House, leaving an open Senate majority leadership position to be filled by the Senate Republicans.  In addition, Senate Finance Chair Scott Oelslager also moved to the Ohio House, which means there will be a new Senate Finance Committee Chair before the biennial budget proposal is released early next year.

Ohio Supreme Court - The Ohio Supreme Court had two of seven seats up for election this year.

Prior to the election, the Republicans controlled all seven seats on the Ohio Supreme Court. The election resulted in two Democrat wins, meaning beginning in 2019 the composition of the Ohio Supreme Court will include five Republicans and two Democrats.

Ohio Issue 1 – Drug and Criminal Justice Policies Initiative

Ohio voters largely rejected Issue 1 by a vote of 63 to 37%. Issue 1 was a highly contested constitutional amendment about criminal sentencing reform, which gained the attention of many across not only Ohio, but also the U.S. The main goal of Issue 1 was to reduce the sentences of individuals incarcerated for non-violent offenses, such as obtaining, possessing, and using controlled substances. Under this amendment, offenders would not face jail time until their third non-violent offense within 24 months. However, due to the proposed increase in the amount of illegal substances an individual could possess, this amendment gained a lot of negative attention, which likely resulted in the defeat of Issue 1.