Primary election had few surprises

By Marc Kovac

news@vindy.com

COLUMBUS

There weren’t too many surprises in Tuesday’s primary election.

Most statewide candidates were uncontested.

The lone statewide issue, a public-works bonding plan with wide bipartisan support and little public opposition, passed by a wide margin.

Fewer people cast ballots. A few new faces are headed to the state Legislature. And Republicans snagged more votes than Democrats.

Here are some things you should know about Tuesday’s unofficial results:

Lower turnout: Less than 17 percent of registered voters (about 1.3 million of 7.7 million) cast ballots Tuesday, according to the unofficial results.

The lowest turnout occurred in Jackson County, where 1,766 people out of 21,339 registered voters participated. Highland and Preble counties had the highest, with close to 29 percent turnouts.

The unofficial turnout totals mark the lowest voter participation in any even-year primary over the past decade.

GOP vs. Dems: More Republicans cast ballots for Gov. John Kasich (554,527) than Democrats for Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald and challenger Larry Ealy (435,171 combined), according to the unofficial results.

Among other Democratic statewide candidates, Sen. Nina Turner pulled in the most votes in her run for secretary of state, with 370,455.

Former Hamilton County Commissioner David Pepper, running for attorney general, was second with 359,070, followed by Rep. John Carney (auditor) with 356,814 and Rep. Connie Pillich (treasurer) with 346,540.

Among other statewide Republicans, Attorney General Mike DeWine had 539,754, followed by Treasurer Josh Mandel with 501,859, Secretary of State Jon Husted with 501,025 and Auditor Dave Yost with 494,177.

School levies: Voters OK’d 102 of 148 school tax issues on the primary ballot, according to the Ohio School Boards Association. Twenty-seven of 65 new tax issues were OK’d, while 75 of 83 renewals won passage.

We are family: A number of family members of incumbent or former lawmakers secured party nominations to run in November for seats in the Ohio Legislature.

That list in includes Michele Lepore-Hagan, wife of state Rep. Robert F. Hagan of Youngstown, D-58th; Rick Redfern, brother of state Rep. and Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern, D-Catawba Island; Emilia Sykes, daughter of state Rep. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron; and Sarah LaTourette, daughter of former U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette, a Republican.

Issue 1: Voters overwhelmingly backed a renewal and funding increase for the state’s public-works program, with 65 percent of ballots favoring the new 10-year bonding plan and 35 percent opposing.

The result was the highest margin in three renewals of the program (54 percent supported the bond plan in 2005 and 62 percent supported it in 1995). Seventy-one percent voted in favor of creating the program in 1987.