Politics of Ohio

Last updated
United States presidential election results for Ohio [1]
Year Republican  /  Whig Democratic Third party
No. %No. %No. %
2020 3,154,83453.18%2,679,16545.16%98,4471.66%
2016 2,841,00651.31%2,394,16943.24%301,3725.44%
2012 2,661,43747.60%2,827,70950.58%101,7881.82%
2008 2,677,82046.80%2,940,04451.38%103,9671.82%
2004 2,859,76850.81%2,741,16748.71%26,9730.48%
2000 2,351,20949.97%2,186,19046.46%168,0583.57%
1996 1,859,88341.02%2,148,22247.38%526,32911.61%
1992 1,894,31038.35%1,984,94240.18%1,060,71221.47%
1988 2,416,54955.00%1,939,62944.15%37,5210.85%
1984 2,678,56058.90%1,825,44040.14%43,6190.96%
1980 2,206,54551.51%1,752,41440.91%324,6447.58%
1976 2,000,50548.65%2,011,62148.92%99,7472.43%
1972 2,441,82759.63%1,558,88938.07%94,0712.30%
1968 1,791,01445.23%1,700,58642.95%468,09811.82%
1964 1,470,86537.06%2,498,33162.94%00.00%
1960 2,217,61153.28%1,944,24846.72%00.00%
1956 2,262,61061.11%1,439,65538.89%00.00%
1952 2,100,39156.76%1,600,36743.24%00.00%
1948 1,445,68449.24%1,452,79149.48%37,5961.28%
1944 1,582,29350.18%1,570,76349.82%00.00%
1940 1,586,77347.80%1,733,13952.20%00.00%
1936 1,127,85537.44%1,747,14057.99%137,5944.57%
1932 1,227,31947.03%1,301,69549.88%80,7143.09%
1928 1,627,54664.89%864,21034.45%16,5900.66%
1924 1,176,13058.33%477,88823.70%362,21917.97%
1920 1,182,02258.47%780,03738.58%59,5942.95%
1916 514,75344.18%604,16151.86%46,1723.96%
1912 278,16826.82%424,83440.96%334,09232.21%
1908 572,31251.03%502,72144.82%46,5194.15%
1904 600,09559.75%344,67434.32%59,6245.94%
1900 543,91852.30%474,88245.66%21,2732.05%
1896 525,99151.86%477,49747.08%10,8071.07%
1892 405,18747.66%404,11547.53%40,8624.81%
1888 416,05449.51%396,45547.18%27,8523.31%
1884 400,08250.99%368,28046.94%16,2482.07%
1880 375,04851.73%340,82147.01%9,0981.25%
1876 330,69850.21%323,18249.07%4,7690.72%
1872 281,85253.24%244,32146.15%3,2630.62%
1868 280,16754.00%238,62146.00%00.00%
1864 265,65456.37%205,59943.63%00.00%
1860 221,80951.24%187,42143.30%23,6325.46%
1856 187,49748.51%170,87444.21%28,1267.28%
1852 152,52343.18%168,93347.83%31,7328.98%
1848 138,35942.12%154,77347.12%35,34710.76%
1844 155,11349.68%149,06147.74%8,0502.58%
1840 148,15754.10%124,78245.57%9030.33%
1836 104,95851.87%96,23847.56%1,1370.56%

Political control of Ohio has oscillated between the two major parties. Republicans outnumber Democrats in Ohio government. The governor, Mike DeWine, is a Republican, as are all other non-judicial statewide elected officials: Lieutenant Governor of Ohio Jon A. Husted, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, Ohio State Auditor Keith Faber, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Ohio State Treasurer Robert Sprague.

Contents

In the Ohio State Senate, the Republicans have a supermajority (26-7), and in the Ohio House of Representatives the Republicans also have a supermajority delegation (66-32), and they have generally held the legislature since the latter half of the 20th century. The Ohio Congressional Delegation is mostly Republican as well; 10 representatives are Republicans while five are Democrats. One U.S. senator, J. D. Vance, is a Republican, while the other, Sherrod Brown, is a Democrat.

The mayors of most of the 10 largest cities in the state (Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron, Dayton, Youngstown, Canton, Parma, Lorain) are Democrats. The Republicans are strongest in the rural Northwest, the affluent Cincinnati and Columbus suburbs, and have made gains in Appalachian Southeast Ohio and the industrial, working-class Northeast in the 21st century. The Democrats rely on the state's major cities, and have made gains in educated suburban areas in recent years.

The state was strongly Republican from the party's inception, voting Republican in every election from 1856 to 1908. The northern Union-aligned part of the state kept the state Republican, and consistently narrowly edged out the Democratic and Appalachia-influenced southern Ohio. Since 1896, however, Ohio has voted for the winning candidate, except for Franklin D Roosevelt in 1944, John F Kennedy in 1960, and Joe Biden in 2020. This was due to Democratic gains in the northeastern part of the state. The state has not backed a losing candidate in consecutive elections since 1848. Due to a close split in party registration, it has been a key battleground state. No Republican has ever been elected president without winning Ohio. In 2004, Ohio was the tipping point state, as Bush won the state with 51% of the vote, giving him its 20 electoral votes and the margin he needed in the Electoral College for re-election. The state was closely contested in 2008 and 2012, with Barack Obama winning narrowly on both occasions. Ohio has been a bellwether state in presidential elections.

Since 2016, Ohio's bellwether status has been questioned given that Donald Trump won it by 8 points, the largest margin for each party since 1988, and then won the state by a similar margin in 2020 despite losing nationwide. [2] [3]

Additionally, Ohio's presidential electoral vote total has been declining for decades. Ohio lost two electoral votes after the results of the 2010 United States Census, leaving it with 18 electoral votes for the presidential elections in 2012, 2016, and 2020. The number of electoral votes was down from 20 in the 2004 and 2008 elections, and down from a peak of 26 in 1964 and 1968. As of 2020, Ohio has its fewest electoral votes since 1828, when it cast 16. The state cast 3.71 percent of all electoral votes from 2004 through 2020, the smallest percentage since it cast 3.40 percent of the votes in 1820.

Ohio's large population has long made the state a major influence in politics. Seven presidents have been from Ohio, all Republicans: William Henry Harrison, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, William Howard Taft and Warren G. Harding. [4]

Parties

As of September 19, 2019, there were two recognized political parties in Ohio.[ citation needed ]

Democratic
Republican
Party registration as of October 1, 2021
PartyTotal votersPercentage
Unaffiliated 6,196,54777.6%
Democratic 947,02711.8%
Republican 836,08010.4%
Total7,979,654100%

There are also two deregistered parties that have active executive committees.

The Greens
Libertarian

Federal representation

Following each decennial census, the General Assembly, with the approval of the governor, draws the U.S. congressional district lines for Ohio's 15 seats in the United States House of Representatives. The Ohio Apportionment Board draws state legislative district lines. Ohio currently has 15 House districts In the 118th Congress, 5 of Ohio's seats are held by Democrats and 10 are held by Republicans. There are as follows:

Ohio's two United States Senators are Democrat Sherrod Brown and Republican J. D. Vance, serving since 2007 and 2023, respectively.

Ohio is part of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio and the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in the federal judiciary. The district's cases are appealed to the Cincinnati-based United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in Ohio</span> Overview of the procedure of elections in the U.S. state of Ohio

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 United States presidential election in Ohio</span> Election in Ohio

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States presidential election in Ohio</span> Election in Ohio

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 United States presidential election in Indiana</span> Election in Indiana

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States presidential elections in Ohio</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio</span>

The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio were held on November 6, 2018, to elect the 16 U.S. representatives from the U.S. state of Ohio, one from each of the state's 16 congressional districts. The elections coincided with other elections to the House of Representatives, elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio</span> Elections in Ohio

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 United States presidential election in Indiana</span> Election in Indiana

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 United States presidential election in Ohio</span> Election in Ohio

The 2020 United States presidential election in Ohio was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Ohio voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee—incumbent President Donald Trump and his running mate, Vice President Mike Pence—against the Democratic Party nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate, California Senator Kamala Harris. Ohio had 18 electoral votes in the Electoral College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 United States presidential election in Missouri</span> Election in Missouri

The 2020 United States presidential election in Missouri was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, as part of the 2020 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Missouri voters chose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote, pitting the Republican Party's nominee, incumbent President Donald Trump of Florida, and running mate Vice President Mike Pence of Indiana against Democratic Party nominee, former Vice President Joe Biden of Delaware, and his running mate Senator Kamala Harris of California. Missouri has 10 electoral votes in the Electoral College.

References

  1. ↑ Leip, David. "Presidential General Election Results Comparison – Ohio". US Election Atlas. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  2. ↑ No longer mirror of US, Ohio's electoral bellwether quiets Associated Press. November 14, 2020.
  3. ↑ Political Scientist Says Ohio Is No Longer A Bellwether, Swing, Or Battleground State Statehouse News Bureau. November 5, 2020.
  4. ↑ Coffey, Daniel J., John C. Green, David B. Cohen and Stephen C. Brooks. 2011. Buckeye Battleground: Ohio, Campaigns and Elections in the Twenty-First Century. Akron, OH: University of Akron Press
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