Ohio special vote in 12th District close to very end
WESTERVILLE, Ohio — In what should have been a slam dunk for the Republican, Tuesday’s special election for a central Ohio congressional district was locked in a tight battle late Tuesday.
The race has garnered national attention for potential signs of what might be coming in November.
With 100 percent of the precincts reporting in the 12th District, Republican state Sen. Troy Balderson of Zanesville was up over Democrat Danny O’Connor of Westerville, with 50.1 percent of the unofficial vote to 49.3 percent. The Green Party’s Joe Manchik had 0.6 percent.
Mr. Balderson addressed his election night gathering just after 11 p.m., thanking President Donald Trump and Vice President Pence for their help rallying in the
district.
“America is on the right path and we’re gonna keep it going that way,” he told a crowd of more than 100. “It’s time to get to work. Over the next three months I’m going to do everything I can to keep America great again.”
Mr. O’Connor refused to concede Tuesday night and appeared to already look ahead to November where the same three candidates will square off for a full twoyear term
“We are in a tight ballgame, and you made this possible,” he told followers. “You believed in us. In a race the pundits say we had not business being in, you proved them wrong.”
Mr. O’Connor was buoyed by strong early vote turnout for him in his own portion of Franklin County as well as Delaware County, but watched as that lead slowly dissolved as the night went on with rural counties reporting.
The 12th District has been in GOP hands for 35 years, was held for 18 of those years by Gov. John Kasich, and went for President Trump by 11 points in 2016. The seat’s last occupant, former U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi, won reelection two years ago with 67 percent of the vote.
Both sides have poured millions into the race as Dems hoped to repeat the extremely narrow win of moderate Democrat Conor Lamb earlier this year in a Pittsburgh-area special election in a heavily Republican district also won by Mr. Trump.
Democrats hoped to turn the 12th, the last special election ahead of the Nov. 6 midterms, into a referendum on Mr. Trump, while Republicans sought to link Mr. O’Connor, Franklin County’s 31-year-old recorder, to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, DCalif. Mr. O’Connor insisted he would not support her return to the role of speaker if Democrats regain control of the House. The Democratic National Committee said there are 60 other GOP-held seats in Congress considered more competitive than the 12th. Mr. Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., have all traveled to the district in support of Mr. Balderson, 56.
“Ohio, vote today for Troy Balderson for Congress,” Mr. Trump tweeted Tuesday. “His opponent, controlled by Nancy Pelosi, is weak on Crime, the Border, Military, Vets, your 2nd Amendment — and will end your Tax Cuts. Troy will be a great Congressman. #MAGA.”
Despite the 12th District’s consistent support of Republicans over the years, late polls had the candidates in a dead heat going into Tuesday, and Mr. O’Connor appeared to benefit from a stronger early-vote turnout among Democrats.
The special election was triggered by Mr. Tiberi’s resignation as of Jan. 15 after 17 years in Congress to head the Ohio Business Roundtable. The winner will complete the four-and-a-half months left in Mr. Tiberi’s term, and both candidates will run again on Nov. 6 for a complete two-year term.
The district stretches from the heavily populated, voter-rich, northern suburbs of Columbus, where Mr. O’Connor lives, and includes fast-growing, prosperous Delaware County. It pushes north from Columbus through rural Ohio to Mansfield and southeast to Zanesville, encompassing all or part of seven counties.
The Block News Alliance consists of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and The Blade of Toledo, Ohio. Jim Provance and Liz Skalka are reporters for The Blade.