Senate Race: Brown Beats Renacci In Ohio Election

The race between Senator Sherrod Brown and his challenger, Jim Renacci, is over. The incumbent Democrat, Brown, coasted to an easy win on Tuesday night.

Brown said his victory was a blueprint for the nation in 2020, which will undoubtedly add fuel to the rumors that he may be considering a run at the White House. Renacci conceded the race at 8:30 p.m., thanking his staff and saying he would continue to stand with the president.

"We can't have one of the loudest voices in Ohio not supporting the president," Renacci said in his concession speech, a thinly-veiled shot at term-limited Governor John Kasich. The challenger then said he wanted to make "Ohio first again."

Brown held a 2,201,332 votes to 1,968,616 vote lead over Renacci, in the unofficial state vote count.

Part of the reason for Brown's lead in polls prior to the election was the chaos that reigned in the Republican primaries. Front-runner for the party's nomination for senate, Josh Mandel, dropped out in January 2018, just five months for the primaries. Republican leadership scrambled to find a suitable replacement, and settled on Renacci.

For his part, Brown combined the use of a substantial political war chest, and a blue-collar political philosophy to appeal to voters. He touted a message of support for the middle and working classes, while moving away from deep tax cuts for the rich.

The Republican party lined up a series of recognizable names and faces to stump with Renacci, and make him more appealing to both the party base and independent voters. It appears their pleas had little effect.

At the Polls

Heavy traffic at the polls in Northeast Ohio was likely a good sign for Brown. Turnout in Cuyahoga County, Ohio's most populous county, was up over the past two midterm elections.

Two voters in Cleveland Heights said they were "terrified" or "horrified" by the direction of the country. After not voting in the May primaries, because he was volunteering, 59-year-old Dennis said, "What scares me the most is our congressional leaders letting President Trump do whatever he wants. There's no oversight," he said.

In affluent suburb Beachwood, Christi, a young white woman, said that she was not going to vote Republican, after doing so in 2016. "I liked the things [Cordray and Brown] were doing," she said.

Poll workers across Northeast Ohio told Patch they had seen massive turnout, far greater than the last midterm election in Ohio. The numbers bear their experience out: turnout closed at about 53 percent in Cuyahoga County. Only 38 percent of eligible voters in Cuyahoga voted in 2014.

Ashley Monaghan, a volunteer poll worker in Munson Township, said her location had a very busy morning, with a line out the door. Things slowed down some in the afternoon, but she expected activity to pick up after 5 p.m.

"We expect a huge overall turnout," she said.

Civility and Name Recognition

While both Brown and Renacci had called for civility, they also accused each other of salacious mistakes, including flying on a private jet owned by a strip club proprietor, and pointing to a restraining order filed against Brown in 1987. Renacci even suggested that Brown is driven by illegal immigrants.

The two candidates also paraded a series of famous faces at their rallies and events. President Donald Trump was in Cleveland Monday, stumping for Renacci.

During the Monday event, at the IX Center, Trump took shots at several Democrats, including Richard Cordray and Elizabeth Warren, and tried to boost Republicans, like Renacci. "His whole life he's worked hard - he gets it. He's a wonderful human being - he's strong, he's tough, and he doesn't take no for an answer," Trump said of Renacci.

Vice President Mike Pence, Eric Trump, Republican Sen. Rob Portman, and other prominent right-wing politicians also appeared with Renacci to try and boost him in the polls.

Meanwhile, Democrats brought former Vice President Joe Biden and hit musician (and Columbus legend) John Legend to town for Brown.

It's unclear how much impact any of these figures had on the senate race. Brown had been ahead in most polls since the start of the campaign and maintained a fairly strong lead heading into Tuesday. RealClearPolitics has the race rated as a "lean Democrat," with Brown up between 6 and 9 points before Election Day.

For Ohioans, the march of national figures through the state conjured memories of 2016, and every presidential election before that. Every four years, the Buckeye State is a key battleground for both Democrats and Republicans. Undoubtedly, some residents are shaking (with rage and fear) over the possibility of Ohio being drowned in political ads and figures every two years, instead of four.

The Biographies

Renacci, 59, was once the mayor of Wadsworth and was the representative for Ohio's suburban 16th district. His rhetoric and policies have been closely aligned with Trump on many issues.

Brown, 65, has been one of Ohio's two senators since 2006. He has been a vocal opponent of Trump and an advocate for several prominent left policies. Brown snagged several key endorsements from large media players, like cleveland.com and the Columbus Dispatch.

Both men cast their own ballots on Tuesday morning. Renacci voted in his home precinct in Wadsworth, while Brown voted at the Mill Creek Community Center, Fox 8 reported.

The Issues

Unlike the Ohio gubernatorial campaign, where the Democratic and Republican candidates agree on many measures, there was a marked difference between Renacci's and Brown's priorities.

For one, Renacci has been a long-term advocate for pro-life measures, and cites his faith as his guiding principal on the issue. He's also a proponent of the rights of gun owners, citing his record supporting legislation that allows state-issued gun permits to be valid in other states.

Renacci has also said he opposes "sanctuary" cities, saying they "present danger" to a community. He also supports Trump's long-talked about, yet-to-be-built border wall.

Brown — on the other hand — wants to focus on expanding access to affordable healthcare, reducing student loan debt, and ensuring equal rights for women, African Americans, and the LGBT community.

Renacci said he wants to repeal and replace Obamacare. Brown wants to expand Obamacare, to provide affordable healthcare to all Ohioans.

Both candidates claim they will help the economy. Brown specifically said he wants to help workers, while Renacci said he wants to create jobs. The nexus of economy and politics is the meeting ground for one of the few topics Renacci and Brown agree.

Both men have talked about unbalanced trade deals that malign American industries. Both want to fix those deals.

"We want more trade—Ohio businesses, including our auto supply chain, rely on trade with our neighbors. But trade should happen on a truly level playing field, and that’s not what we have right now," Brown said on his website.

"While we live in a global economy, unfair trade deals have given foreign trading partners a massive advantage while countless American jobs vanished, particularly in places like our state, which has been hit hard by job and population decline," Renacci said.

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