Results are preliminary, with outstanding provisional and absentee ballots still to be counted
By DAVID DEWITT
Competing under maps declared to be an unconstitutional GOP gerrymander by a bipartisan majority on the Ohio Supreme Court, Ohio Republicans look to have picked up one Ohio Senate seat Tuesday and perhaps two to four seats in the Ohio House as well.
With outstanding absentee and provisional ballots, these results could change in the coming days, but this is where things stood early Wednesday morning.
Provisional ballots are allowed to be cast when more verification is needed during in-person voting, while any outstanding absentee ballots that have been mailed but not delivered yet need to be post-marked on or before Nov. 7 and verified in order to be counted. With more than a million absentee ballots requested this election, the Ohio Secretary of State’s office reported Tuesday more than 150,000 were outstanding. Early Wednesday morning, the combined count of outstanding absentee and provisionals stood at more than 180,000 on the office’s results website.
For now, GOP candidates look to have won up to 68 of Ohio’s 99 state House district races, with one too close to call and possibly heading for an automatic recount if the tight margin remains. No others are currently heading for a recount, but a couple are close enough that outstanding provisional/absentee returns could trigger a flip or recount. Republicans also won 11 of 17 Ohio Senate races up for election this year, according to unofficial results.
With the pick-up in the Ohio Senate, Ohio Republicans look to control the chamber 26-7. They look to control the Ohio House perhaps 66-33, 67-32, or 68-31. Going into the election, Ohio Republicans enjoyed a 64-35 supermajority over Democrats in the Ohio House and a 25-8 supermajority in the Ohio Senate.
Sixteen Ohio Senate seats were not up for election, and will be in 2024. The results do not become official until they are certified by bipartisan county boards of elections. Boards of elections must complete their official canvass of general election ballots no later than Nov. 29.
The preliminary results show one Ohio House race — District 5 — too close to call, falling within the half-point margin that triggers an automatic recount under Ohio law. The Ohio House District 5 race features Canal Winchester Democratic incumbent Richard Brown versus Republican challenger Ronald Beach IV.
With 100% of 884 precincts reporting, Beach held a lead of 0.28%. Beach had 16,921 votes, or 50.14%, compared to 16,825 votes, or 49.86%, for Brown.
How we got unconstitutional maps
After being declared unconstitutional repeatedly by a bipartisan majority on the Ohio Supreme Court, the district maps used in Ohio’s 2022 midterm were forced upon voters by a federal courtthat said in it’s decision, “We chose the best of our bad options.”
The federal court made its ruling after many months of Republicans passing maps along party lines that kept getting rejected as unconstitutional by the bipartisan Ohio Supreme Court majority. The game of brinksmanship came to a head as the state faced a variety of practical election administration problems if maps continued to be delayed.
The federal court selected the Republican-drawn map as Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose had already ordered boards of elections to load those Statehouse district maps still under review by courts into their systems and prepare to use them. LaRose voted for the maps as a member of the Ohio Redistricting Commission.
LaRose won reelection Tuesday. Fellow Republican redistricting commissioners Gov. Mike DeWine and Auditor Keith Faber also won reelection.
With Republicans keeping majority control of both the Ohio House and Senate, they will also continue to hold a 5-2 majority split on the redistricting commission.
Ohio Republicans also won all three Ohio Supreme Court races Tuesday, after Republican swing-vote Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor was forced to retire from the bench due to age, under Ohio law.
For full percentage and vote total breakdowns, please visit the Ohio Secretary of State website here.
Also from Ohio Capital Journal:
Republican J.D. Vance wins Ohio’s open U.S. Senate seat
Republicans take all three Ohio Supreme Court elections
Ohio Democrats pick up one U.S. Congressional seat in midterm election
U.S. Senate control too close to call as multiple states grapple with tight vote counts
No GOP ‘wave,’ but Republicans could still gain control of U.S. House
