Republican Mike DeWine and Democrat Richard Cordray, candidates for Ohio governor.
Update: The Associated Press is projecting that Republican Mike DeWine has won the race, with 51 percent of the vote. Richard Cordray had 46 percent of the vote.
DECISION 2018: @AP reporting Republican Mike DeWine wins election for governor in Ohio #10TV #ElectionDay | Complete results: t.co/pQVUlBS9pV
Ohio voters were largely split in deciding whether to support Republican Mike DeWine or Democrat Richard Cordray for governor. Late polls gave Cordray a slight edge, but the race was viewed nationwide as a toss-up. What time can you expect to see results in Ohio, including a winner in the DeWine vs Cordray race? Read on for details.
The polls closed in Ohio at 7:30 p.m. The Ohio Secretary of State will continuously update results as they come in online; you can track those results here.
You can expect political analysts and news networks to begin announcing projections at 7:30. They’ll reference data points including early voting numbers and exit polls to predict a winner.
However, the final official results from the Ohio Secretary of State will not be announced until hours after the polls close. It’s important to remember as well that polling places do not automatically shut down at 7:30 on the dot. They are legally required to remain open as long as there are people waiting in line to cast ballots. If large numbers of people waited until after work to vote, and there are long lines, then it could take much longer for election results to begin filtering in.
In addition, if the governor’s race is as tight as pollsters have predicted, it’s possible the Secretary of State could hold off for days before announcing the official results. The Secretary of State’s website also included a statement at the top of its screen today that the page would become unavailable after 7:30 p.m. so that live results could be provided. It further states that the “website will return to full functionality on Wednesday, November 7.”
As mentioned above, early voting results could be released as early as 7:30 p.m. Secretary of State Jon Husted announced that as of Monday, November 5, more than 1.3 million Ohioans voted early, either by mail or in-person. This number is far higher than it was in the 2014 midterms. In that election, 813,000 ballots were cast early. That is an increase of more than 61 percent.
Political strategist Mike Dawson, who runs OhioElectionResults.com, is predicting that voter turnout in Ohio will far surpass previous midterm elections. He told the Springfield News Sun that based on the high number of absentee ballots turned in so far, he is anticipating 57 percent of registered voters will actually cast ballots. That’s equivalent to 4.6 million people.
That would be much higher than previous midterm elections, which historically attract less interest than years in which a president is on the ballot. According to the Ohio Secretary of State website, turnout in Ohio was 40 percent in 2014. It was 49 percent in 2010.
The DeWine versus Cordray race is something of a rematch between the two candidates. In 2010, DeWine defeated Cordray for Attorney General. It was a tight race back then, too: DeWine won with 48 percent of the vote while Cordray brought in 46 percent.
As for the 2018 governor’s race, an Emerson College poll released October 29 showed that 49 percent of those surveyed planned to support Cordray. 46 percent favored DeWine. 3 percent were undecided. Those undecided voters will more than likely make the difference in deciding this race.
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