Ohio Governor Race

11/7/2018

Mike DeWine will be Ohio’s next governor

Bennett Leckrone / Senior Writer

The Ohio governor’s office will remain red as Republican Mike DeWine defeated Democratic opponent Richard Cordray in Tuesday night’s election to become the state’s next governor.

DeWine received more than 51 percent of votes statewide with more than 91 percent of precincts reporting in, according to the Ohio Secretary of State’s website.

NBC politics projected that DeWine would win on Twitter.

Cordray called DeWine to concede, Dispatch reporter Randy Ludlow said on Twitter.

In Athens County, DeWine and Husted received 7,186 votes, far less than Cordray’s 13,268.

DeWine has advocated for more affordable college and reduced standardized testing during his campaign, including guaranteeing tuition rates, according to his website. DeWine has also supported increasing educational funding for lower-income Ohioans.

“Over the years, state funding has decreased to help lower-income Ohioans pay for higher educational opportunities in our state,” DeWine’s website reads. “The DeWine-Husted Administration will increase state funding for lower-income Ohioans to attend to higher education.”

Ohio Governor Elect Mike DeWine

DeWine also plans to help fund basic job-qualifying certificates, like coding certifications, according to his website.

Aside from education, DeWine and his running mate, Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted, plan to address Ohio’s opioid epidemic by declaring it a public health emergency, expanding drug courts and creating more early intervention programs.

Overdose deaths claimed thousands of lives in Ohio in 2017: 4,854 Ohioans died of unintentional overdose in 2017, according tothe Ohio Department of Health.

DeWine, the Ohio Attorney General and former Senator, will be making a return to the Ohio governor’s office. He was the state’s lieutenant governor under Republican George Voinovich from 1991 to 1994.

Cordray, however, has criticized DeWine DeWine for what he says are ineffective policies on the opioid epidemic.

“What Mike DeWine is doing right now as attorney general is simply too little too late, and he has had no plan to address this crisis until he started running for governor this year after seven years of indecision and inaction as attorney general,” Cordray said in May.

DeWine has also pledged to continue Medicaid expansion despite previously labeling it as financially unsustainable, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

DeWine will succeed fellow Republican John Kasich. While DeWine has promised to continue some programs create during Kasich’s tenure, like JobsOhio, the two differ in their approach to President Donald Trump.

Kasich has been a staunch critic of many of Trump’s policies since the two faced off in the 2016 Republican Primary. DeWine, on the other hand, has been endorsed by Trump.

DeWine and Husted will take office in January.

Development by: Megan Knapp / Digital Production Editor