Blog

Nov 07, 2024

Ohio’s ongoing red tsunami wipes out Sherrod Brown, redistricting reform: Capitol Letter - cleveland.com

Ohio Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno during a watch party on election night, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Westlake, Ohio. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)AP Red state: The 2024 general election cemented

Ohio Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno during a watch party on election night, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024, in Westlake, Ohio. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)AP

Red state: The 2024 general election cemented a trend that has been sweeping across Ohio for years. The Buckeye State is scarlet red. Republicans dominated the election in Ohio, ousting a three-term Democratic U.S. senator, defeating a constitutional amendment that would have loosened their grip on legislative power and propelling Donald Trump to a third consecutive win in Ohio.

U.S. Senate: Republican businessman Bernie Moreno toppled Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown in Ohio’s closely watched U.S. Senate race. Jeremy Pelzer and Zach Mentz write that Moreno extended an olive branch to Ohioans who didn’t vote for him while Brown said in a concession speech that the loss was “a disappointment, but not a failure.” The race drew near daily national coverage for its implications over which party will control the closely divided Senate.

Trump wins “bigly:” It only took the Associated Press roughly 90 minutes after polls closed to call Ohio’s 17 electoral votes for Donald Trump and JD Vance, the Buckeye State native, Cory Shaffer reports. By midnight, with almost 5.5 million votes counted, Trump won 55.3% of the vote, to Kamala Harris’43.8% -- an over 10% difference.

Issue 1: A state constitutional amendment that would have stripped politicians of their power over drawing state legislative and congressional lines failed on Tuesday. Robert Higgs writes that Republican opponents to state Issue 1 celebrated its defeat even as they were significantly outspent by a bipartisan coalition supporting the amendment. Supporters blamed GOP-authored ballot language that they say was intentionally written to persuade voters to cast ballots against it.

Another sweep: Republicans, for the second election cycle in a row, swept the slate of Ohio Supreme Court races. As Jake Zuckerman reports, Judge Megan Shanahan, Justice Joe Deters, and Judge Dan Hawkins all won with roughly 11-point (as of 11 p.m.) margins. Come January, Justice Jennifer Brunner will be the lone Democrat on the Supreme Court.

State legislature: Democrats in the Ohio House gained two seats and held onto its incumbents. The outcomes of two races were not yet known early Wednesday. Despite these gains, the Republicans will continue to have a veto proof majority and dominate both chambers of the General Assembly, Laura Hancock reports.

Too close to call: In Ohio’s most closely contested U.S. House of Representatives races, incumbent Democrats Marcy Kaptur of Toledo and Emilia Sykes of Akron had an edge over their GOP challengers by Wednesday morning, Sabrina Eaton reported, but no winner had been declared.

Republicans again had a good election night in Ohio, while Democrats largely went to bed unhappy. Here are some questions we’re asking about the 2024 election.

Nick Davis, Business Development Associate / Project Manager, Small Nation

“To me, it feels like a complete sweep in Ohio”

- Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou speaking to a jubilant room at the Renaissance Hotel in Columbus for a GOP victory party.

Capitol Letter is a daily briefing providing succinct, timely information for those who care deeply about the decisions made by state government. Subscribe to get Capitol Letter in your email box each weekday for free.

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.