COLUMBUS – A fledgling congressman who was backed by President Donald Trump and Trump critic Gov. John Kasich has won his congressional rematch, retaining a coveted open House seat for Republicans, as the partisan makeup of Ohio’s congressional delegation remained unchanged following Tuesday’s midterm voting.
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Voters on Tuesday picked U.S. Rep. Troy Balderson, of Zanesville, over Democratic Franklin County Recorder Danny O’Connor, for the second time since August. That means he’ll serve the next full term representing central Ohio’s 12th District formerly held by Republican ex-U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi, who retired in January.
Balderson’s close victory came as Republicans were concerned about how Trump is playing in swing states. O’Connor was considered a long shot in the district, held by Republicans for nearly 35 years.
Kasich represented the district before Tiberi.
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Nationally, Democrats picked up at least two dozen House seats Tuesday, capturing the 218 seats needed to break Republicans’ eight-year hold on the House that began with the tea party revolt of 2010, but none of those gains came in the Buckeyes State.
The GOP’s Steve Chabot of Cincinnati held off Aftab Pureval, the 36-year-old clerk of courts for Hamilton County who mounted a strong challenge and drew attention as the son of immigrants: a Tibet-born mother and India-born father.
All of Ohio’s incumbent lawmakers, including Republican Steve Stivers and Democrat Joyce Beatty from central Ohio, won re-election.
A Democratic U.S. senator who’s in his fifth decade of Ohio politics has been elected to a third term.
Sherrod Brown on Tuesday defeated fourth-term U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, who dropped a governor’s bid to run for Senate at Trump’s urging.
The 65-year-old Brown won his first election to the state’s House in 1974 and unseated Republican Sen. Mike DeWine in 2006. With a history of blue-collar appeal and union support, Brown has backed Trump moves on steel tariffs and renegotiating trade agreements.
The 59-year-old Renacci, a businessman, called Brown a liberal out of touch with Ohio values.
Brown won with 53 percent of the vote to Renacci’s 47 percent.