Ohio Primary Election Results: DeWine, Cordray And Renacci Win

CLEVELAND, OH — Primary Day in Ohio proved to be one of few surprises, as Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and former federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Chief Richard Cordray, won the Republican and Democratic nominations, respectively, for governor. In the other major race of interest, Republican Congressman Jim Renacci won the nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by Democrat Sherrod Brown.

DeWine, Cordray and Renacci were each favorites to win their races.

In perhaps the most heated race, DeWine and his running mate, Jon Husted, knocked off Lieutenant Gov. Mary Taylor and her running mate Nathan Estruth. In the weeks leading up to the race Taylor tried to label DeWine as a career politician and a liberal in a series of campaign ads. DeWine fought back with his own ads, pointing to her as the liberal.

With 96 percent of Ohio's precincts reporting, unofficial primary night results showed that DeWine netted 490,534 votes, or 60 percent of the vote, to Taylor's 329,089 votes, show unofficial election night results.

In the Democratic primary, Cordray and his running mate Betty Sutton pummeled his rival, former Congressman Dennis Kucinich and his running mate Tara Samples. Cordray took 416,328 votes (62 percent) to Kucinich's 153,472 votes (22 percent), show unofficial election night results.

In the Senate race, Renacci was the solid favorite, with his main rival being Cleveland businessman Mike Gibbons. Renacci also had the support of President Trump, and had campaign visits from Vice President Mike Pence and Trump's daughter, Ivanka.

Unofficial election results show Renacci got 358,785 votes, or 47 percent of the vote, to Gibbons' 239,862 votes. Meanwhile, Brown was not contested in the Democratic primary, but likely will face a formidable foe in Renacci come November.

In other Congressional races, incumbent Democrat Marcy Kaptur will again receive her party's nomination to be the U.S. Representative for Ohio's 9th District. Already the longest serving woman in U.S. House history, Kaptur is unlikely to be seriously troubled in the general election. Her district, which stretches from Toledo into Cleveland, is strongly Democratic.

Kaptur's primary challenger was newcomer Joshua Garcia. He championed term limits for members of Congress, a position particularly relevant in a head-to-head match-up with Kaptur. His positions appear to have fallen on mostly deaf ears, with Kaptur capturing more than 80 percent of the vote. (Get Patch real-time email alerts for the latest news in Cleveland and other Northeast Ohio neighborhoods. Access Patch on the go with our iPhone app or Android app users.)

Patch tracked the results of Ohio's key elections below.

Voter turnout in Cuyahoga County was at about 23.4 percent at the time of the polls closing, according to unofficial numbers from the county Board of Elections. Mike West, a spokesperson for the Cuyahoga BOE, said he was hoping for turnout to get closer to 26 percent, slightly above average for a primary.

What Happens After The Polls Close?

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