2014 Ohio State Auditor election

2014 Ohio State Auditor election

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Candidate Dave Yost John Patrick Carney Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,711,927 1,149,305 Percentage 56.98% 38.25%

County results Yost:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Carney:     50–60%

State Auditor before election Dave Yost Republican Elected State Auditor Dave Yost Republican

The 2014 Ohio State Auditor election was held on November 4, 2014, to elect the Ohio State Auditor, concurrently with elections to the U.S. House of Representatives, governor, and other state and local elections. Primary elections were held on May 6, 2014. ^[1] A debate was held on September 15, 2014, between all three candidates running, being the only debate held for any statewide election in Ohio in 2014. ^{[2] [3]}

Incumbent Republican auditor Dave Yost won re-election to a second term in office against Democratic state representative John Patrick Carney by a margin much greater than his previous victory in 2010. ^{[4] [5]}

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominee

• Dave Yost, incumbent state auditor (2011–present) ^{[6] [7]}

Results

Republican primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dave Yost (incumbent)	498,760	100.0%
Total votes			498,760	100.0%

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominee

• John Patrick Carney, state representative from the 22nd district (2009–present) ^[8]

Results

Democratic primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	John Patrick Carney	360,933	100.0%
Total votes			360,933	100.0%

Libertarian primary

The Libertarian Party was not recognized as a major party in 2014 due to newly established rules regarding state recognition of political parties. ^{[9] [10]} Two Libertarians running for governor and attorney general were removed from the ballot in March 2014, which drew controversy. ^{[11] [12] [13]} Bob Bridges, the only Libertarian running for auditor, ran a write-in primary campaign. ^{[1] [14]}

Candidates

Nominee

• Bob Bridges, director of the Libertarian Party of Ohio and tow truck driver ^[15]

Results

Libertarian primary results ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Libertarian	Bob Bridges (write-in)	797	100.0%
Total votes			797	100.0%

General election

Endorsements

Dave Yost (R)

Newspapers and other media

• The Canton Repository ^[16]
• The Cincinnati Enquirer ^[17]
• The Columbus Dispatch ^[18]
• The Plain Dealer ^[19]
• The Times-Reporter ^[20]

John Patrick Carney (D)

Labor unions

• Columbus Education Association ^[21]

Organizations

• Ohio Fraternal Order of Police ^[22]

Debate

2014 Ohio State Auditor debate

No.	Date	Host	Moderator	Link	Republican	Democratic	Libertarian
Key:  P Participant  A Absent  N Not invited  I Invited  W  Withdrawn
					Dave Yost	John Patrick Carney	Bob Bridges
1	September 15, 2014	City Club of Cleveland	Nick Castele	YouTube	P	P	P

Results

2014 Ohio State Auditor election ^[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dave Yost (incumbent)	1,711,927	56.98%
	Democratic	John Patrick Carney	1,149,305	38.25%
	Libertarian	Bob Bridges	143,363	4.77%
Total votes			3,004,595	100.0%
	Republican hold

References

1. "2014 Elections Results". Ohio Secretary of State. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
2. Gomez, Henry (September 15, 2014). "In Ohio auditor debate, incumbent Dave Yost and challenger John Patrick Carney trip over each other in attempts to claim the political high road". cleveland.com. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
3. Rowland, Darrel (September 17, 2014). "Kasich, FitzGerald won't hold debates". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
4. Borchardt, Jackie (November 5, 2014). "Dave Yost defeats John Patrick Carney in Ohio auditor's race". cleveland.com. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
5. "Republican Yost Defeats Carney In Auditor's Race". Associated Press. November 4, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2025– via 91.3 WYSO.
6. Candisky, Catherine (September 23, 2014). "Yost, Carney followed own paths as they vie for auditor's job". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
7. Candisky, Catherine (September 3, 2014). "Ohio Auditor Dave Yost launches re-election bid". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
8. "State auditor candidate John Patrick Carney agrees redistricting reform is needed; disagrees on the method". Akron Beacon Journal. October 28, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
9. Palzer, Jeremy (November 8, 2013). "Libertarians file legal challenge against Ohio's new rules for minor political parties; Greens may follow suit". cleveland.com. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
10. Carr Smyth, Julie (May 1, 2014). "Libertarian loses appeal, remains off May ballot". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
11. "Ohio: Two Libertarians Removed From Ballot" . Associated Press. March 7, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2025– via The New York Times.
12. Vardon, Joe (March 8, 2014). "Libertarians angry at GOP while acknowledging faults". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
13. "Wiped out, before a ballot is cast". Akron Beacon Journal. March 12, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2025. Friday, Earl, his running mate, Sherry Clark, and the Libertarian candidate for attorney general, Steven Linnabary, were bounced from the May 6 primary ballot by Jon Husted, Ohio secretary of state.
14. "Official Write-in Candidate Results" (PDF). Wood County Board of Elections. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
15. Provance, Jim (October 5, 2014). "Libertarian vows to act as watchdog". The Blade. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
16. "Here are The Rep's endorsements for Tuesday's election". The Repository. November 2, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
17. "Endorsement: Dave Yost for auditor". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 17, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
18. "Endorsements recapped". The Columbus Dispatch. November 2, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
19. "Dave Yost for Ohio auditor: endorsement editorial". cleveland.com. October 9, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
20. "A wrapup of T-R election endorsements" . TimesReporter. November 2, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
21. "CEA endorsements" (PDF). Columbus Education Association. September 2, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2025.
22. "Police union endorses 4 challengers in Ohio races". Akron Beacon Journal. July 29, 2014. Retrieved December 4, 2025.