Less than two days later, it’s even more clear just how historic Tuesday’s election was for Buckeye State Democrats.
They won the governor’s office, four of five statewide executive offices , preserved a seat and flipped another on the state Supreme Court and took back a U.S. Senate seat. They are also on the cusp of gaining a slim majority within Ohio’s U.S. House delegation. In the legislature, they are likely to gain between eight and 12 Ohio House seats and two seats in the Ohio Senate.
As for the headliner, Amy Acton is now the first woman ever elected governor here. She won alongside three other Democratic women who ran in statewide or Ohio Supreme Court races.
Another point worth noting: At least 4.6 million Ohioans voted, the highest number ever in a midterm and the highest percentage turnout for a midterm election since 1990.
One issue that played a role in the governor and U.S. Senate races, as well as other legislative ones, was data centers. Voters sent a clear message through their choices that they don’t like data centers. And when given a chance to ban them on the local level, they did. Every one of the 18 data center bans before voters around the state passed decisively.
What’s coming next?
Ohio Recounts
Four Ohio House races have triggered recounts, according to Rep. Chris Glassburn, a member of the House Democrats’ leadership team. The caucus will have at least 42 seats next year (compared to 34 today) and up to 48, depending on how the recounts turn out.
The recounts can’t begin until the election results are officially certified on Nov. 24. But regardless of the exact number of seats Democrats win, they will end Republicans’ 14-year hold on a veto-proof House supermajority – which becomes especially important as Acton prepares to take office in January.
Recrimations
The GOP’s Vivek Ramaswamy lost to Acton, even with about 2 million votes. Every other Republican statewide candidate outran him – meaning they received more votes than he did. In some cases, other GOP candidates topped Ramaswamy by about 200,000 votes.
Some Republicans are pointing fingers at the top of the ticket, saying a stronger candidate could have helped carry down-ballot Republicans. The smallest margin of defeat was 28,407 votes, or 0.63 percentage points. That was Republican Keith Faber, who lost to Democrat John Kulewicz in the state attorney general race, according to final but unofficial election results.
Republican critics include Ohio House Finance Chair Brian Stewart, who had this to say on Wednesday:
“I think from here on out, we need to make sure that our candidates at the top of the ticket have to run real races before they get handed the keys to the bus,” he said, referring to those who, like Ramaswamy, have not faced a primary battle or have never been on the ballot.
Kulewicz, the attorney general-elect, agreed in an interview Wednesday.
“Other Republicans showed benefits of the experiences they had over a long course of time working with the people of Ohio,” he said. “Mr. Ramaswamy is new to Ohio politics, and it showed.”
GOP strategist Kevin Bingle said on social media that Ramaswamy’s widely panned attack ad featuring Acton’s mother was responsible for “dragging down” the state treasurer and attorney general candidates.
“Ramaswamy and his senior advisors should be held responsible for that decision and outcome,” Bingle wrote.
Mike Gonidakis, a Republican lobbyist and former president of Ohio Right to Life, was also sharply critical of the ad. He called it a “stain” on Ramaswamy’s political career that should preclude him from running for office in Ohio again.
But he had a broader view of who should share the blame.
“We need to take a hard look in the mirror and see if we’re being served by the current makeup of the Ohio Republican Party,” Gonidakis said. “The party did not show that much leadership this election cycle. It was more about bus tours and rallies rather than holding the candidates accountable.”
Defanging the next Ohio governor?
There’s some speculation coming from Democrats that Republicans, during the upcoming lame-duck state legislative session, might neuter powers of the governor’s office. The lame-ducksession is the 60 days in between elections and the new terms taking effect, animated by late night dealmaking and warp-speed lawmaking.
We’ve heard about this privately but not on the record from Republicans who would know.
That said, House Bill 775 is lurking in the background. It was quietly introduced in March and has sat around untouched. In general terms, it limits the abilities of agency directors (who are gubernatorial appointees) at places like the Ohio EPA or Department of Natural Resources to write their own regulations.
Wisconsin and North Carolina are among the states that have watered down the authority of the governor’s office in response to big shifts in party control. Notably, the outgoing Republican governor of Georgia quickly ruled out doing so on Wednesday after a Democrat won the election to succeed him.
Democrats control ballot issues
Tuesday’s results also shifted significant control of citizens’ ballot initiatives, which are a key political battleground here and across the country. Liberal groups have used them to pass laws that would have little chance of winning approval from a Republican-controlled legislature. Tuesday’s election results mean Republicans have lost power to thwart them with procedural roadblocks.
Here’s a bit about how these have gone when the GOP controlled the process. Federal courts have faulted former Attorney General Dave Yost for an unconstitutional use of nitpicky editing to stymie language on amendment proposals. And the Ohio Ballot Board – a panel led by Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose – has been accused of jamming loaded language into ballot questions that misrepresent issues before voters dealing with abortion rights and redistricting.
Kulewicz’s election as attorney general and Allison Russo’s as secretary of state mean those key roles in balloting proposals are in Democratic hands. An early test could come in 2027, when Democrats plan to try to put redistricting reform on the ballot once again.
Vindication of a compromise?
In October 2025, state Democrats made a surprise deal with Republicans locking in a new congressional map through 2031. Republicans touted the plan as possibly delivering the GOP a 13-2 congressional majority of Ohio’s delegation, while Democrats called the map not as bad as it could have been. Some people still didn’t like it.
For state Sen. Bill DeMora, a Columbus Democrat, the proof is in the precincts. Democrats appear to have won eight of 15 seats in Ohio’s congressional delegation on Tuesday. The 10th District seat held by Republican Rep. Mike Turner of Dayton was still in limbo Wednesday afternoon.
“For those people that criticize Dani Isaacsohn and Nickie Antonio for the congressional map, those people can all go pound salt,” DeMora said, naming the two Democratic legislative leaders.
In the news
Issue 3 win adds Ohio voter ID laws to state constitution. Ohioans backed a proposal to add to the Ohio Constitution the current rules that require voters to show government-issued photo ID. The amendment changes little today but makes it harder to alter ID requirements in the future. Read more from Jake here.
At least 18 municipal issues opposing data centers were on the Nov. 3 ballot in Ohio. They all passed, Dean Narcisso writes for the Columbus Dispatch.
Jack Herrera of the Washington Post interviewed a man at Ramaswamy’s election night watch party who lost $5,000 gambling on Ramaswamy to win.
