COLUMBUS (AP) — A special congressional election in central Ohio will be the last test of voter sentiment nationally before November’s high stakes general election.
Polls open 6:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.
Ballots returned in-person to county boards of election must be in by 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 7.
Up for grabs on are the last few months of former U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi’s unexpired term.
The long-serving establishment Republican retired in January, creating a coveted open U.S. House seat.
“This is one where Republicans should win,” says Christopher Devine, an assistant professor of Political Science at the University of Dayton. “If, however, a Democrat were to win the race instead, it would be seen as an indication that Democrats are particularly strong this year, that there is a backlash against President Trump such that they might take at least the House in the November mid-terms.”
Republican Troy Balderson, a two-term state senator from Zanesville, is running with Tiberi’s backing. The 57-year-old is a supporter of President Donald Trump, but he’s also aligning himself with Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich, an outspoken Trump critic.
RELATED: Trump campaigns for Balderson in central Ohio days before voting begins
Democrat Danny O’Connor, the 31-year-old Franklin County recorder, won the endorsement of the traditionally conservative Columbus Dispatch. The newspaper said it could not recommend a Trump supporter.
Balderson and O’Connor face off again in November.
Voters also will cast ballots on four local issues across nine counties in northeast and southwest Ohio.