Republican declared winner in closely contested Ohio congressional race

Source: The Washington Post



By John Wagner, Reporter
August 24 at 2:11 PM

Republican Troy Balderson was declared the winner Friday over Democrat Danny O’Connor in a closely contested special election in a central Ohio congressional district that Republicans have held for decades.

After thousands of provisional and absentee ballots were counted, the Associated Press declared Balderson, a state senator, the winner of the Aug. 7 contest.

“I’m humbled by the support I’ve received from voters and look forward to representing Ohio’s 12th Congressional district in Congress,” Balderson said in a statement Friday. He added that O’Connor ran a “hard-fought race” to replace Rep. Patrick J. Tiberi (R-Ohio), who retired in January.

Balderson’s narrow win came in a district that President Trump won by 11 percentage points in 2016 and that the GOP has held since 1983. Balderson received the endorsements of both Trump and Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R).

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/republican-declared-winner-in-closely-contested-ohio-congressional-race/2018/08/24/3c6449b0-a7c4-11e8-97ce-cc9042272f07_story.html