1990 Ohio gubernatorial election

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1990 Ohio gubernatorial election
Flag of Ohio.svg
  1986 November 6, 1990 1994  
  George Voinovich.jpg
Nominee George Voinovich Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr.
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote1,938,1031,539,416
Percentage55.7%44.3%

1990 Ohio gubernatorial election results map by county.svg
Ohio 1990 Governor Election By Township.svg
Voinovich:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%     80–90%
Celebrezze:     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Governor before election

Dick Celeste
Democratic

Elected Governor

George Voinovich
Republican

The 1990 Ohio gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1990. Incumbent Democratic governor Dick Celeste was unable to run for a third consecutive term due to term limits. Former mayor of Cleveland George Voinovich, who also ran for the United States Senate in 1988, was uncontested for the Republican nomination, while Ohio Attorney General Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr. emerged from the Democratic primary. In the end, Voinovich was able to defeat Celebrezze by a fairly wide margin, winning his first term in office.

Contents

Abortion was a key issue of the election. Celebrezze switched from his lifelong anti-abortion position to a pro-choice position nine days before declaring his candidacy. Assuming that this would help him in a mostly pro-choice state, he raised the issue frequently. Because of this, the topic of abortion made the news. This allowed Voinovich to have an issue to criticize Celebrezze's integrity, contributing to Voinovich's win. [1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results [2]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Democratic Anthony J. Celebrezze, Jr. 683,932 83.85
Democratic Michael Hugh Lord131,56416.13
Democratic Write-ins1910.02
Total votes815,687 100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results [3]
PartyCandidateVotes%
Republican George Voinovich 645,224 100.00
Total votes645,224 100.00

General election

Results

Ohio gubernatorial election, 1990 [4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
Republican George Voinovich 1,938,103 55.73% +16.36%
Democratic Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr. 1,539,41644.27%−16.33%
Write-ins1310.00%
Majority 398,68711.46%−9.77%
Turnout 3,477,650
Republican gain from Democratic Swing

References

  1. Hershey, Marjorie Randon (2000). "Constructing Explanations for U.S. State Governors' Races: The Abortion Issue and the 1990 Gubernatorial Election" . Political Communication. 17 (3): 239–262. doi:10.1080/105846000414269. S2CID   143420185 . Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  2. Election results
  3. Election results 1990
  4. Election results 1990