11/08/00 1:25 p.m.
Buckeyes Did Their Part
No Bush presidency without Ohio.

By Kevin Holtsberry, freelance writer based in Ohio

s Ohioans stumbled numbly into the fog and headed for work this morning the presidential race still hung in the balance. The once-mighty GOP governors stumbled a bit last night, but Ohio delivered for Bush. Ridge, Engler, and ultimately Thompson failed to leverage their popularity into a Bush win, but Taft and Ohio Republicans stood tall and the state's crucial 21 electoral votes went for Bush. If Bush ultimately wins, Taft will likely have a first-class ticket to the inauguration.

Democrats' and Republicans' massive GOTV efforts succeeded in pushing the turnout to near record highs. It appears that nearly 70% of registered voters in Ohio turned out to the polls. While African-American and union households helped the Democrats' efforts across the state and across the nation, for the most part Republicans held their own here in the Buckeye State.

President
Bush won, but not overwhelmingly (approx. 50-46). As noted above, high voter turnout amongst minorities and union members gave Gore an unexpected boost.

U.S. Senate
No need to pile on Ted Celeste; DeWine, as expected, won handily (60%).

U.S. House
Pat Tiberi finished strong and bested Mary Ellen O'Shaugnessy roughly 52-43. O'Shaughnessy was unable to rack up high enough margins in urban Franklin County (Columbus) to offset high Tiberi numbers in suburban and rural Delaware County.

Ohio Supreme Court
Republicans couldn't pull off the upset of current Ohio Supreme Court Justice Alice Resnick but held their own with the reelection of conservative Justice Deborah Cook. The media will likely call this a "backlash" against the $5 million dollar ad assault against Resnick by outside interest groups, but it is more likely that the power of incumbency and name recognition — not to mention high D turnout — carried the day for Resnick. Either way, it appears the legislature will need to address the school-funding issue after all.

Ohio General Assembly
Despite the high number of open seats due to term limits, the election continued the status quo in the Ohio legislature. With one race likely to undergo a recount, the Republican majorities remain unchanged (59-40 House, 21-12 Senate). One interesting note: In the 85th House District 18-year-old Minster High School graduate Derrick Seaver appears to have pulled a stunning upset, defeating Republican David Shiffer by 235 votes. One consolation for conservatives in this district: Seaver is pro-gun and pro-life.

In the one of the closest elections this century, Ohio Republicans did their part — but will it be enough?