A quick rundown of the upcoming Ohio elections

Laina Yost

Ohio voters will head to the polls Tuesday and make the decision on who will hold power in multiple statewide seats that are up for grabs.

State Republicans currently control both the House and the Senate, and they also have power in the governor’s mansion. Democrats hope to use the “blue wave” momentum to their advantage and hold a majority for the first time in at least eight years.

Here’s a rundown of who’s on the Ohio ballot next Tuesday.

Gubernatorial race a toss up

Republican Attorney General Mike DeWine and Democrat Richard Cordray are facing off in the governor’s race, vying for the seat left by term-limited Gov. John Kasich.

Multiple polls have put the race in toss up position.

Health care is a big issue in the race. DeWine remained mum on whether he would support Medicaid expansion before ultimately saying he would, but with added work requirements.

President Donald Trump and his son, Don Jr., have both campaigned in Ohio with DeWine, but the Republican candidate said he was unsure if he would attend the president’s Monday rally in Cleveland.

DeWine also accepted the support of Kasich, who is a staunch opponent of Trump.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren will campaign for Cordray near Ohio State University and Ohio University on Thursday.

On Oct. 30, Trump endorsed DeWine on Twitter and called Cordray a “clone of Pocahontas,” his favorite nickname for Warren.

Cordray chose Betty Sutton, a Kent State alumna, to run as his lieutenant governor. Sutton visited Kent State on Wednesday and spoke with students.

DeWine tapped Jon Husted, the current Secretary of State, to be his running mate.

Kent state representative looks to win secretary of state race

Kathleen Clyde, representative of Ohio’s 75th House district, which represents the city of Kent, is running for Husted’s seat.

Clyde has emphasized creating safe elections in her race, citing the 2016 election for compromised elections. She has also opposed Ohio’s voter purges, which were held up by the Supreme Court in June.

Clyde is running against Republican Senator Frank LaRose, who created Ohio’s online voter registration system that he said identifies “non-citizens” on the voter rolls and removes them.

The empty seat that will be left by Clyde is between Democrat Randi Clites and Republican Jim Lutz, a Kent State alumnus.

Sherrod Brown holds comfortable lead in Senate race

Incumbent Senator Sherrod Brown is running against Renacci, who has earned the endorsement of Trump. The former congressman supports repealing Obamacare — whereas Brown backs expanding it — and said he would work with the president to construct a wall along the border.

Brown was spotted on campus Monday around front campus. He has held a led over Renacci in all recent polling.

Several other statewide seats are also up for grabs. Republican Dave Yost, auditor of the state, and Democrat Steve Dettelbach, a former U.S. attorney, are running for the Attorney General’s seat.

For Yost’s seat, Democrat Zack Space, a former U.S. representative, and Republican representative Keith Faber are competing for the seat

The next Ohio governor will sign off on redistricted state legislative district maps after the 2020 census.

Polls will close on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. 

Laina Yost is the enterprise editor. You can contact her at [email protected]