10 things to know about Ohio's election results

March 8, 2012 at 12:05a.m.

COLUMBUS

Joe the Plumber is in; Dennis Kucinich is out.

And though Ohio generally sets the pace for the country, Republicans likely have another month of campaigning ahead of them before their choice to face President Barack Obama in November has enough delegates to seal the deal.

Such were the results of Super Tuesday, with the lowest turnout among the five most-recent Ohio presidential primaries and a few surprise results.

Here are 10 things you should know about Tuesday’s statewide results:

Turnout was well beneath comparable recent presidential primaries, with just 1.9 million of 7.7 million registered voters casting ballots, or about 25 percent, according to the unofficial results.

That compares with a 46 percent turnout in 2008 (3.6 million of 7.8 million voters), 33 percent in 2004 (2.4 million of 7.2 million voters), 35 percent in 2000 (2.5 million of 7.2 million voters) and 30 percent in 1996 (2 million of 6.6 million).

Three counties had turnouts of lower than 20 percent (Tuscarawas and Butler had 18 percent each; Pike had 19 percent).

Counties in northwestern Ohio led in turnout. Williams had the highest, with 42 percent. Henry, Fulton and Defiance also were among the top seven. All of the latter sided with Santorum.

Republican Party Chairman Kevin DeWine doesn’t see any enthusiasm gap in the Republican turnout numbers.

In fact, he sees the opposite, with more GOP voters casting ballots on Tuesday than in the 2008 presidential primary.

“I’m happy with having 1.2 million vote yesterday... because in the last presidential primary, we had about 1.1 million,” DeWine said.

Romney carried only 19 of Ohio’s 88 counties, but they were the counties with state’s major metropolitan areas (Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati) and big numbers of voters. Santorum, meanwhile, dominated Ohio’s rural counties.

The final uncertified margin between Romney and Santorum was fewer than 11,000 votes, an interesting total given that close to 14,000 Ohioans cast their ballots for two candidates who have long since exited the race (Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman).

With Tuesday’s results, it will likely be sometime in April before a candidate clinches the GOP nomination, though Romney is the solid front-runner. That means at least a few more weeks of heated campaign rhetoric among Republican candidates.

Democrats quickly pounced on Romney, his margin of victory and overall turnout in Tuesday’s election, saying that the results bode well for President Obama.

“Mitt Romney is a weak candidate that inspires little,” said Chris Redfern, chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party. He added, citing televised exit polls, “Romney’s strongest demographics are those Ohioans who make more than $100,000 a year. I can’t wait till November.”

Some members of the Ohio Black Legislative Caucus were supportive of the Republicans’ congressional redistricting plan last year, in part because of a Democrat-leaning Columbus- area district that tipped in favor of minority candidates.

That turned out to be the case, with former Ohio House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty edging former Congresswoman Mary Jo Kilroy in the District 3 primary.

With Marcia Fudge’s easy victory over two challengers in Cleveland-area District 11, that likely means two members of the Ohio congressional delegation will be part of the black caucus.

Incumbents generally ruled the day in congressional and state legislative races, with two notable exceptions.

Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt was toppled by tea-party-endorsed Brad Wenstrup, 49 percent to 43 percent, according to unofficial results.

At the Statehouse, incumbent Republican Rep. Jarrod Martin, from the Dayton area, came in last among three candidates vying for the new District 73 seat. Martin was not supported by the House’s Republican caucus.

Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur’s win over Kucinich sets up a November match-up with Sam Wurzelbacher, the “Joe the Plumber” made famous in the last presidential election by Republican John McCain.

That race likely will garner much national attention as the two battle for a district that stretches from Toledo to the west side of Cleveland.

As expected, state Treasurer Josh Mandel easily defeated five other Republicans for the GOP nomination to face incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in the fall.

Uncertified totals gave Mandel 63 percent of the vote, with two other candidates (Michael Pryce and Donna Glisman) getting double digits.

Former 11th District Court of Appeals Judge William O’Neill, a two-time congressional candidate, will make a return trip to the November ballot after defeating Fanon Rucker for the Democratic Party nomination for a seat on the Ohio Supreme Court.

The Ohio Democratic Party had endorsed Rucker, who managed only 29 percent of Tuesday’s vote.

O’Neill faces incumbent Justice Robert Cupp in November.