2018 post-general election update

On Tuesday, November 6, 2018, Ohioans cast ballots in the 2018 general election. For the first time since 2006, five statewide elected offices were up for election without an incumbent running in the 2018 general election. Federal offices, including all Ohio U.S. Representatives seats and one U.S. Senate seat, two Ohio Supreme Court seats, all seats in the Ohio House of Representatives and 17 Ohio Senate seats were on the ballot. Many counties in Ohio and around the country reported record-breaking early voter turnout. Nearly 1.5 million ballots were requested by mail and in person, and an estimated 1.3 million had been cast as of the close of early voting on November 5, 2018.

Here is Bricker & Eckler’s overview of the 2018 general election results and details on races of particular interest.

STATEWIDE BALLOT ISSUES

Issue 1: This proposed constitutional amendment was filed as the “Neighborhood Safety, Drug Treatment, and Rehabilitation Amendment.” If adopted, the amendment would have, among other things, required reductions in sentencing in certain situations, mandated that certain criminal offenses or uses of any drugs, such as fentanyl and heroin, can only be classified as a misdemeanor, and prohibited jail time as a sentence for obtaining, possessing or using such drugs until an individual’s third offense within 24 months. Issue 1 was defeated by 63.41 percent.

The Ohio Safe and Healthy Communities Campaign led the way in support of the proposed constitutional amendment. Supporters of Issue 1 were financially supported by Open Society Policy Center, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and the Open Philanthropy Project Action Fund. Other supporters included the Ohio Organizing Collaborative, the Ohio Justice & Policy Center, Ohio Transformation Fund, Alliance for Safety and Justice and Open Society Policy Center.

Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor penned a letter released by the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association in which she stated that Issue 1 will have catastrophic consequences on Ohio and that if Issue 1 passes, Ohio may have some of the most lenient drug crime laws in the nation. Other notable opponents of Issue 1 were the Ohio State Bar Association, the Ohio Common Pleas Judges Association, the Ohio Association of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, Association of Municipal and County Court Judges of Ohio, the Buckeye State Sheriffs Association, the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, the Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, the Ohio Crime Victim Justice Center, the County Auditors Association of Ohio and CorJus. Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Paul Pfeifer, now the Executive Director of the Ohio Judicial Conference, helped draft and provide the argument against Issue 1. 

Speaker of the Ohio House of Representative Ryan Smith (R-Bidwell) and Ohio Senate President Larry Obhof (R-Medina) were engaged in opposing Issue 1. Attorney General Mike DeWine (R-Cedarville) announced his opposition to Issue 1, while his opponent in the 2018 Ohio gubernatorial election, Richard Cordray (D-Grove City), announced his support.

FEDERAL RACES

U.S. Senate

Democratic incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown defeated Congressman Jim Renacci (R-Wadsworth) in the November 2018 general election, winning 53.19 to 46.81 percent. Throughout the election, Congressman Renacci branded himself as the “Trump” candidate. President Trump campaigned for Congressman Renacci in Cleveland the day before the 2018 General Election.

U.S. House of Representatives

Nationally, Republicans lost control of the U.S. House of Representatives. However, the Ohio Congressional delegation political breakdown remained the same in all 16 seats.

Ohio U.S. Representatives Marcia Fudge (D), Marcy Kaptur (D), Troy Balderson (R), Mike Turner (R), David Joyce (R), Tim Ryan (D) and Steve Stivers (R) all won re-election. Steve Chabot (R), Brad Wenstrup (R), Joyce Beatty (D), Jim Jordan (R), Bob Latta (R), Bill Johnson (R), Bob Gibbs (R) and Warren Davidson (R) were also successful. Likewise, former Ohio State University football player and first-time candidate for elected office, Anthony Gonzales (R), won election by 56.84 percent of the vote.

OHIO RACES

Governor

With 50.66 percent of the vote, Ohio’s Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine and Secretary of State Jon Husted defeated Democrat Richard Cordray, former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and a former Ohio Attorney General, and his running mate, former Congresswoman Betty Sutton. Cordray/Sutton received 46.44 percent of the vote.

Attorney General

Republican Auditor of State Dave Yost defeated former U.S. Attorney Steve Dettelbach, a Democrat from Northeast Ohio. Yost received 52.42 percent of the vote and Dettelbach received 47.58 percent.

Auditor

With 49.93 percent, former Senate President and current State Representative Keith Faber (R-Celina) defeated former U.S. Congressman Zack Space (D-Dover). Representative Space received 46.05 percent of the vote.

Secretary of State

State Senator Frank LaRose (R-Hudson) defeated State Representative Kathleen Clyde (D-Kent) for Secretary of State. Senator LaRose received 50.92 percent of the vote, whereas Representative Clyde received 46.73 percent of the vote.

Treasurer

Winning by the largest margin of any statewide candidate, State Representative Robert Sprague (R-Findlay) defeated Democrat Rob Richardson. Representative Sprague received 53.53 percent of the vote and Mr. Richardson received 46.47 percent of the vote. Representative Sprague was a former management consultant for Ernst & Young.  Richardson is a lawyer from Cincinnati and ran unsuccessfully in a previous Cincinnati mayoral race.

Ohio Supreme Court

The Ohio Supreme Court saw more turnover this year, following the mandatory retirement age for judges, which was put in place in 2012. Two seats were open, and the races struggled to gain attention in a year dominated by federal and other statewide races.

Democratic Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Donnelly defeated Republican Fifth District Court of Appeals Judge Craig Baldwin to replace Justice Terrence O’Donnell. Judge Baldwin received 39 percent of the vote, and Judge Donnelly received 61 percent of the vote.

Earlier in 2018, Governor John Kasich appointed Justice Mary DeGenaro, previously of the Seventh District Court of Appeals, to replace Justice Bill O’Neill, who ran for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, for the remainder of the unexpired term. Democratic Eighth District Court of Appeals Judge Melody Stewart defeated Justice DeGenaro for the new term. Judge Stewart won with 52.51 percent of the vote. Justice DeGenaro received 47.49 percent of the vote. Justice-elect Stewart is the first African American woman elected to statewide office in Ohio history.

Court of Appeals

Pierre Bergeron defeated Charles Miller for a position on the First District Court of Appeals, receiving 51.27 percent. Incumbent Dennis Deters was defeated by Candace Crouse for another spot on the First District Court of Appeals. She received 52.87 percent of the vote. Robert Winkler was successful in his race against Ginger Bock for a third seat of the First District Court of Appeals. Winkler received 51.86 percent of the vote.

Incumbent Marilyn Zayas handedly defeated Dale Stalf for a position on the First District Court of Appeals, receiving 60.06 percent of the vote.

With 61.22 percent of the vote, Mike Hess beat Valarie Gerlach for the Fourth District Court of Appeals.

Incumbent Marie Hoover was defeated by Jason Smith for Judge of the Fourth District Court of Appeals. Jason Smith received 52.88 percent of the vote.

With 59.49 percent, incumbent Patricia Delaney held off Andrew King in the Fifth District Court of Appeals race. King received 40.51 percent.

Gene Zmuda was successful in his race against Joel Kuhlman for the Sixth District Court of Appeals. Zmuda received 55.51 percent of the vote to Kuhlman’s 44.49 percent.

David D’Apolito defeated Kathleen Bartlett in the race for Seventh District Court of Appeals, receiving 51.09 percent of the vote.

With 74.11 percent of the vote, Michelle Sheehan defeated Raymond Headen for a position on the Eighth District Court of Appeals.

Incumbent Jennifer Lee Hensal was victorious over Diana Colavecchio in the election for the Ninth District Court of Appeals with 53.31 percent of the vote.

Receiving 53.79 percent of the vote, Mary Jane Trapp defeated Casey O’Brien in the race for a spot on the Eleventh District Court of Appeals.

Matt Lynch defeated Darya Klammer for the Eleventh District Court of Appeals. Lynch received 55.65 percent of the vote.

Ohio House of Representatives: New Democratic Seats

Democrats picked up a net-four seats in the Ohio House, with one or two races still very close (under 1 percent). Three of those seats were gained in Franklin County: Mary Lightbody (D-Westerville) defeated Tim Barhorst (R-Westerville) for Ohio’s 19^th District, Beth Liston (D-Dublin) defeated Stu Harris (R-Dublin) for Ohio’s 21^st District, and Allison Russo (D-Columbus) defeated Erik Yassenoff (R-Columbus) for Ohio’s 24^th District.

Finally, based on unofficial election results, Casey Weinstein (D-Hudson) narrowly defeated Mike Rasor (R-Stow) for Ohio’s 37^th District, previously held by Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson), by less than 600 votes.

Ohio House of Representatives: Races of Interest

The House is currently controlled by a Republican majority of 62-37, and all seats were up for election this year.

In the open 6^th District outside of Cleveland, first-time candidate Phil Robinson (D-Solon) had just received the Cleveland Plain Dealer endorsement over long-time political elected official and operative Jim Trakas (R-Independence). Robinson defeated Trakas, receiving 51.14 percent of the vote to Trakas’s 48.86.

In Cincinnati’s 28^th District, incumbent Jonathan Dever (R-Cincinnati) narrowly defeated challenger Jessica Miranda (D-Cincinnati), receiving 50.28 percent of the vote.

Similarly, appointed incumbent, J. Todd Smith (R-Germantown) seems to be holding on to beat Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley (D-Dayton) in the 43^rd District.

Long-time elected official and current chair of the House Insurance Committee, Tom Brinkman (R-Cincinnati), defeated Ohio’s 27^th District with challenger Christine Fisher (D-Cincinnati) by 53.58 percent of the vote. Fisher received 46.42 percent of the vote.

Ohio’s 20^th District Incumbent Richard Brown (D-Canal Winchester) faced a challenge in a tough district by Bobby Mitchell (R-Canal Winchester). Rep. Brown, an attorney with vast insurance experience, prevailed as the incumbent, receiving 58.06 percent of the vote.

Ohio Senate

The Ohio Senate is currently controlled by Republicans by a 24-9 margin. There were 17 Senate seats up for election this year. While there were a few interesting seats to watch, Republicans kept control of the upper chamber handily. 

Former Democratic Senator and current Representative John Boccieri (D-Poland) was defeated by Michael Rulli (R-Salem) in a current Democratic district in the heart of “Trump Country.” Rulli prevailed with 52.51 percent of the vote.

Also of note, Representative Anne Gonzales (R-Westerville) appears to have defeated Tina Maharath for the Third Senate District, but the race is close enough that a recount is expected.

Franklin County Commissioners

Incumbent Franklin County Commission Marilyn Brown (D) defeated Republican business owner Michele Reynolds (R), receiving 64 percent of the vote.

Franklin County Auditor

Longtime incumbent Republican Franklin County Auditor Clarence Mingo was defeated by Democratic Columbus City Councilman Michael Stinziano. Councilman Stinziano won with 57 percent of the vote.

Below you will find a complete list of all the Ohio House and Senate Candidates in this year’s General Election. 

Ohio House of Representatives Candidates
(Election winners are in bold.)

Ohio Senate Candidates
(Election winners are in bold.)

This is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be legal advice and does not create or imply an attorney-client relationship.