2010 Ohio elections

The Ohio general elections, 2010 were held on November 2, 2010, throughout Ohio. Primary elections took place on May 4, 2010.

2010 Ohio elections

← 2008 2010 2012 →

Federal representatives

United States Senate

Main article: United States Senate election in Ohio, 2010

In the Democratic primary on May 4, 2010, current Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher defeated current Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner. On November 2, Republican Rob Portman, who has served in two federal cabinet positions and as a member of the U. S. House of Representatives defeated Fisher as well as Eric W. Deaton of the Constitution Party and Dan La Botz of the Socialist Party.^[1]

Portman replaced Republican Senator George Voinovich, who retired from office after his second term expired.^[2]

United States House of Representatives

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Ohio, 2010

All of Ohio's eighteen seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 2010.

State executive branch

Governor and Lieutenant Governor

Main article: Ohio gubernatorial election, 2010

2010 Ohio gubernatorial election

← 2006 November 2, 2010 2014 →

Nominee John Kasich Ted Strickland Party Republican Democratic Running mate Mary Taylor Yvette Brown Popular vote 1,889,186 1,812,059 Percentage 49.0% 47.0%

County results Kasich:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70% Strickland:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election Ted Strickland Democratic Elected Governor John Kasich Republican

Incumbent Democratic Governor Ted Strickland ran for reelection to a second term in office. His running mate was Yvette McGee Brown, the founding president of the Center for Child and Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children's Hospital, and former Judge of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.

John Kasich, former U.S. Representative and former Chair of the House Budget Committee, was the Republican nominee. His running mate was Ohio State Auditor Mary Taylor.

Ken Matesz was the Libertarian nominee. His running mate was Ann Leech.^[1]

Dennis Spisak was the Green nominee. His running mate was Anita Rios.^[1]

Kasich narrowly defeated Strickland with 49% of the vote.

Attorney General

Main article: 2010 Ohio Attorney General election

Ohio Attorney General election, 2010

← 2006 November 2, 2010 2014 →

Nominee Mike DeWine Richard Cordray Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,821,414 1,772,728 Percentage 47.5% 46.3%

County results DeWine:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70% Cordray:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%

Attorney General before election Richard Cordray Democratic Elected Attorney General Mike DeWine Republican

In the Attorney General race, Democratic incumbent Richard Cordray was defeated by Republican Mike DeWine, a former two-term United States Senator from Ohio and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee as well as a former county prosecutor. DeWine would go on to defeat Cordray once again in the 2018 race for governor with running mate Jon Husted, the former Secretary of State.

Polling

Poll source	Dates administered	Richard Cordray (D)	Mike DeWine (R)
Survey USA[3]	September 10–13, 2010	40%	47%
The Columbus Dispatch[4]	August 25 – September 3, 2010	42%	44%
Public Policy Polling[5]	August 27–29, 2010	40%	44%
Public Policy Polling[6]	June 26–27, 2010	41%	44%

Results

2010 Ohio Attorney General election^[7]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mike DeWine	1,821,414	47.54
	Democratic	Richard Cordray (incumbent)	1,772,728	46.26
	Constitution	Robert Owens	130,065	3.39
	Libertarian	Marc Allan Feldman	107,521	2.81
Total votes			3,729,428	100.00
	Republican gain from Democratic

Secretary of State

2010 Ohio Secretary of State election

← 2006 November 2, 2010 2014 →

Nominee Jon Husted Maryellen O'Shaughnessy Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,973,422 1,500,648 Percentage 54.0% 41.1%

County results Husted:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% O'Shaughnessy:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%

Secretary of State before election Jennifer Brunner Democratic Elected Secretary of State Jon Husted Republican

Ohio's Secretary of State race featured a contested Republican primary on May 4, 2010, between Jon Husted, an Ohio State Senator and former Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, who defeated Sandra O'Brien, a former county auditor in Ashtabula County who secured the support of the Tea Party movement. In the general election, Husted defeated Democrat Maryellen O'Shaughnessy, the Clerk of Franklin County Court of Common Pleas, and Charlie Earl, a Libertarian.^[1]

Incumbent Jennifer Brunner sought the Democratic nomination for United States Senator instead of running for re-election, but lost to incumbent Lt. Governor Lee Fisher.

Husted would later go on to run for Lieutenant Governor on Mike DeWine's ticket which defeated Richard Cordray in the 2018 election.

Polling

Poll source	Dates administered	Maryellen O'Shaughnessy (D)	Jon Husted (R)
The Columbus Dispatch[4]	August 25 – September 3, 2010	39%	42%

Results

2010 Ohio Secretary of State election^[8]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jon Husted	1,973,422	54.04
	Democratic	Maryellen O'Shaughnessy	1,500,648	41.09
	Libertarian	Charlie Earl	179,495	4.87
Total votes			3,653,565	100.00
	Republican gain from Democratic

Treasurer

Ohio State Treasurer election, 2010

← 2006 November 2, 2010 2014 →

Nominee Josh Mandel Kevin Boyce Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 2,008,892 1,471,727 Percentage 54.9% 41.1%

County results Mandel:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% Boyce:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%

State Treasurer before election Kevin Boyce Democratic Elected State Treasurer Josh Mandel Republican

In the Treasurer race, Democratic incumbent Kevin Boyce was defeated by Republican Josh Mandel, a member of the Ohio State House of Representatives and a two tour veteran of the Iraq War, and Matthew Cantrell, a Libertarian candidate.^[1]

Polling

Poll Source	Dates administered	Kevin Boyce (D)	Josh Mandel (R)
The Columbus Dispatch[4]	August 25 – September 3, 2010	36%	40%

Results

2010 Ohio State Treasurer election

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Josh Mandel	2,008,892	54.89
	Democratic	Kevin Boyce (incumbent)	1,471,727	41.09
	Libertarian	Matthew Cantrell	179,495	4.90
Total votes			3,660,114	100.00
	Republican gain from Democratic

Auditor

Ohio State Auditor election, 2010

← 2006 November 2, 2010 2014 →

Nominee Dave Yost David Pepper Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,842,264 1,624,183 Percentage 50.6% 44.6%

County results Yost:      40-50%      50-60%      60-70%      70-80% Pepper:      40-50%      50–60%      60–70%

State Auditor before election Mary Taylor Republican Elected State Auditor Dave Yost Republican

Ohio's Auditor race also featured a contested Republican primary on May 4, 2010, between Seth Morgan, a member of the Ohio House of Representatives, and Dave Yost, the Prosecuting Attorney for Delaware County, Ohio and former Delaware County Auditor. Yost beat Democrat David A. Pepper, a Commissioner for the Hamilton County, Ohio Board of Commissioners, and L. Michael Howard, a Libertarian.^[1]

Republican incumbent Mary Taylor decided to run for Lieutenant Governor as John Kasich's running-mate, instead of running for re-election.

Polling

Poll source	Dates administered	David Pepper (D)	Dave Yost (R)
The Columbus Dispatch[4]	August 25 – September 3, 2010	33%	42%

Results

2010 Ohio State Auditor election ^[9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Dave Yost	1,842,264	50.55
	Democratic	David Pepper	1,624,183	44.58
	Libertarian	L. Michael Howard	177,204	4.86
Total votes			3,643,651	100.00
	Republican hold

State legislative branch

State Senate

The 17 odd-numbered districts out of 33 seats in the Ohio Senate were up for election in 2010.

State House of Representatives

All 99 seats in the Ohio House of Representatives were up for election in 2010.

State judicial branch

Three seats in the Supreme Court of Ohio are up for election, including the office of Chief Justice. The Supreme Court is a non-partisan office and will not appear on primary ballots. Although the Democratic and Republic parties customarily endorse candidates in the general election, those endorsements are not noted on the general election ballots either. Justices Judith Lanziger and Paul Peiffer are running for re-election. Justice Maureen O'Connor is running for Chief Justice. Judges for Ohio District Courts of Appeal and Ohio Courts of Common Pleas will also appear on the ballot.

Chief Justice

Poll source	Dates administered	Eric Brown (D)	Maureen O'Connor (R)	Undecided
The Columbus Dispatch[4]	August 25 – September 3, 2010	18%	46%	36%

Associate Justice

Poll source	Dates administered	Mary Jane Trapp (D)	Judith Ann Lanzinger (R)	Undecided
The Columbus Dispatch[4]	August 25 – September 3, 2010	18%	19%	62%

Ballot initiatives

Two measures were approved in the May 4 election. No ballot measures were approved for the general election.

References

1. Ohio Secretary of State (March 5, 2010). "Statewide Candidates Certified for May Primary Ballot". Archived from the original on May 6, 2010. Retrieved April 1, 2010.
2. Dubail, Jean (January 12, 2009). "It's official: Voinovich to retire from Senate after 2010". Cleveland Plain Dealer. Retrieved November 10, 2009.
3. Survey USA
4. The Columbus Dispatch
5. Public Policy Polling
6. Public Policy Polling
7. Leip, David. "2010 Secretary of State General Election Results". US Election Atlas. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
8. Leip, David. "2010 Secretary of State General Election Results". US Election Atlas. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
9. "State of Ohio 2010 General Election November 2, 2010 Unofficial Results". Ohio Secretary of State. November 2, 2010. Archived from the original on November 5, 2010. Retrieved November 6, 2010.