By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Wood County was a tiny dot of blue in a sea of red that was Wood County on Tuesday.
Though the county mimicked the state wide results handing victories to Republicans across the board, Bowling Green went its own way.
Democrats had higher vote tallies in all but one or two precincts — the one including the “bird” streets going red.
While Donald Trump won the state and Wood County, in Bowling Green Vice President Kamala Harris outpolled the former president, 6420-4261.
Bowling Green voters also voted for incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown, 6872-3970, even though his challenger Bernie Moreno unseated him with a statewide tally of 2,803,634-2,592,539. and in the county, 32,125-30,467.
Issue 1, the anti-gerrymandering constitutional amendment which would have thoroughly rewritten the process by which voting districts are drawn, failed statewide, 2,883,705-2,478,017 and county wide, 32,333-28,301.
In Bowling Green the affirmative votes outpolled the negative, 6366 -4261. Supporters of the issue launched a highly visible campaign in Bowling Green with informational meetings and canvassing.
Bowling Green’s liberal lean was evident even when a candidate was a city resident. Both U.S. Congressman Bob Latta and Ohio State Senator Theresa Gavarone call Bowling Green home. Both overwhelmed their opposition.
Latta defeated Keith Mundy 251,824-120,887 districtwide. But in BG, Mundy 568 votes to 520 for the incumbent.
Gavarone faced what could be called token opposition. Paloma De La Fuente, a 22-year-old University of Toledo student, dropped out of the race in August saying she needed “to prioritize the health of my family.” Gavarone’s campaign sent out a mailer reminding voters of Paola’s withdrawal a week before the election.
Gavarone was returned to Columbus 108,867-67,217. In the incumbent’s hometown, though, De La Fuente outpolled her 5957-5114. Gavarone did win four of the five precincts in the Fourth Ward, which she represented on city council before being appointed to the Ohio House in 2016.
There was an even stronger split on the measure to increase the school income tax. The measure passed in 17 of the 19 precincts, 6,053-4,972. But that was offset by its overwhelming opposition in the eight precincts outside the city, 822-2,053. The levy failed by a districtwide margin of 150 votes, 6,875-7,025. There are more than 250 provisional ballots were cast in the two campus districts, including one in which the “no” vote outpolled the “yes” vote, and those as well as other provisional ballots still need to be counted.
