| Click on link above for the final vote totals. There are those who claimed this was going to be an important race, signalling whether or not the Republicans would hold onto their gains in November. |
Trump's chosen candidate appears headed for victory in tight race in Ohio's 12th
[Cincinnati.com] President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
's endorsed candidate appeared to eke out a win in an extremely tight central Ohio race in Ohio Tuesday ‐ but it should have never been this close.
Trump's name wasn't on the ballot in the reliably Republican district, but his brand was. Trump repeatedly endorsed Republican state Sen. Troy Balderson over Democrat Danny O'Connor, a county elected official, to fill the remaining months of former U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi's term.
Trump flew into Ohio Saturday to campaign for Balderson in a crowded, overheated high school gymnasium. "(Balderson)'s really tough. He's really smart. He never stops working," Trump said of Balderson, a former Ironman race competitor. "It's Ohio's 12th district, and he's going to hopefully be here a long time."
The message was clear: a vote for Balderson was a vote for Trump.
And it seemed to work. With 99 percent of the vote in, Balderson led O'Connor 50.1 percent to 49.3 percent in Tuesday's unofficial final vote. The margin was just over 1,600 votes.
The race had not been officially called by any news organizations, and O'Connor had not conceded as of 10:30 p.m.
| The Columbus Dispatch had all the inside baseball beforehand. A taste: |
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
‐ especially after he campaigned in the district Saturday.
But with polls showing a very close race, will we know who won even after Tuesday’s ballots are counted?
No one knows quite what to expect, in large part because a competitive August congressional election is unprecedented in recent Ohio history.
"Typically in the August special elections, nobody turns out, but with all the hoopla, who knows?" said Aaron Ockerman, executive director of the Ohio Association of Election Officials.
While odds are that the outcome will be known Tuesday night, Ockerman said, "If it’s super close, you probably won’t see either person concede."
If the election remains too close to call after Election Day, no new results will be announced while officials wait 10 days for provisional ballots; ballots from overseas and military voters; and absentee ballots postmarked by Monday that arrive by the end of the period. (You also can return your absentee ballot in person to your county board of elections before the polls close Tuesday.)
If the winning margin is less that 0.5 percentage points once that count is completed, a recount is mandatory.