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00:00:39Ohio once again
00:00:39goes red for Donald Trump
00:00:41and other Republicans
00:00:41on the ballot benefit, too.
00:00:44We look back on the 2024
00:00:44election
00:00:46and look forward to
00:00:46what happens next.
00:00:48This weekend,
00:00:48the state of Ohio.
00:01:08Welcome to the state of Ohio.
00:01:10I'm Karen Kasler.
00:01:11usually we bring our kids out
00:01:11on Election Day
00:01:13and again, really experience
00:01:13why it matters.
00:01:16And it's important.
00:01:17the volunteers here
00:01:17are wonderful.
00:01:20Very careful
00:01:20about all the rules
00:01:22and regulations,
00:01:22but so helpful.
00:01:26And I appreciate that.
00:01:28I think it's important
00:01:28that you kind of voice
00:01:30your opinion.
00:01:31And, I mean, this is kind of,
00:01:33definitely a platform
00:01:33to do so.
00:01:35Nearly 5.7 million Ohioans
00:01:35cast ballots in this election.
00:01:39Those people were among
00:01:39the 3 million or so voters
00:01:42who cast their ballots
00:01:42on Tuesday.
00:01:44More than 2.6 million Ohioans
00:01:44either
00:01:47mailed in early ballots,
00:01:47voted them in person
00:01:49or return them to the Dropbox
00:01:51at their county
00:01:51board of elections.
00:01:53And there were long lines
00:01:53at some boards of elections
00:01:56on Sunday,
00:01:56the last day to vote early.
00:01:58A choice these Franklin
00:01:58County voters made.
00:02:01Yeah,
00:02:01I normally vote each year.
00:02:03Of course, since
00:02:03the presidential election.
00:02:05So, you know,
00:02:05I always come out for those
00:02:07and I try to come out
00:02:07for every,
00:02:08you know, local ones
00:02:08or city as well and state.
00:02:11But yeah, just it's a big
00:02:11it's a big year.
00:02:14I just. Yeah.
00:02:15I just love coming out here,
00:02:15and I love voting.
00:02:17It just makes me
00:02:17really happy.
00:02:18It makes me feel,
00:02:18like I have, say.
00:02:21And what's going on?
00:02:21So. Yeah.
00:02:24By Sunday, 30% of Ohio's 8.1
00:02:27million registered
00:02:27voters had already voted.
00:02:30But the final total fell
00:02:32short of the 5.97
00:02:32million voters in 2020.
00:02:36And at just under 70%,
00:02:36turnout was also below
00:02:39the percentage record of 77%
00:02:39set in 1992.
00:02:43The vote further solidified
00:02:43Ohio as a red state.
00:02:46The presidential race
00:02:46was called
00:02:47for the Republican ticket
00:02:47of Donald Trump and JD Vance,
00:02:50just over 90 minutes
00:02:50after the polls closed.
00:02:53Not long after that,
00:02:53the call came for issue one.
00:02:56Voters rejected
00:02:56the constitutional amendment
00:02:58that would replace the seven
00:02:58elected officials on the Ohio
00:03:02Redistricting Commission
00:03:03with a 15 member commission
00:03:03of Republicans, Democrats
00:03:06and independents,
00:03:07with politicians
00:03:07banned from that panel.
00:03:09Senate President Matt Huffman,
00:03:10who ran unopposed
00:03:10and was elected to the House,
00:03:13credited Republican elected
00:03:13officeholders who spoke out
00:03:16against issue one,
00:03:16but also local officials.
00:03:19And it was very much
00:03:19a grassroots campaign.
00:03:23There is not a functioning
00:03:23Democrat Party in about 80
00:03:26of the 88 counties,
00:03:28but in every county
00:03:28in the state,
00:03:29there is a local Republican
00:03:29Party who ran a no campaign.
00:03:34That's why we won by
00:03:34ten points in this campaign.
00:03:37The local parties.
00:03:38Republican Senator
00:03:38Michelle Reynolds,
00:03:40who had joined
00:03:40a group of black former
00:03:42lawmakers opposed to issue
00:03:43one, said
00:03:44Ohioans did not want to
00:03:44replace elected politicians
00:03:47with unelected citizens
00:03:47when it comes to drawing maps.
00:03:50we are very,
00:03:50very smart in this electorate
00:03:53and we are sending a message
00:03:53that we are not going
00:03:56to allow our elections
00:03:56to be bought
00:03:58and paid for by outside,
00:03:58outside people.
00:04:01They have no business making
00:04:01decisions for us in Ohio.
00:04:05Ohio has spoken and we say no.
00:04:08One issue one,
00:04:08we believe in our elections.
00:04:11And although this may not be
00:04:11the best process,
00:04:14it's a process
00:04:14that's accountable
00:04:16and it's a process. It's
00:04:16transparent.
00:04:18And Ohio has spoken
00:04:18Citizens not politicians,
00:04:21which had put the issue
00:04:21on the ballot,
00:04:23raised almost $40
00:04:24million over the last year
00:04:24with $15 million in donations
00:04:28from out of state groups,
00:04:28according to that July report.
00:04:31Its top donors were unions
00:04:31and left leaning groups,
00:04:34and most of its money
00:04:34did come from out of state,
00:04:37including the dark money
00:04:37groups.
00:04:39Article four and the 1630 fund
00:04:39citizens, Not politicians.
00:04:43Spokesman Chris Daley
00:04:44blamed the confusing ballot
00:04:44summary language that he says
00:04:47was designed to mislead
00:04:47voters.
00:04:49The ballot board, led
00:04:49by Secretary of State
00:04:53Frank LaRosa, wrote
00:04:54intentionally deceptive
00:04:54and false ballot language.
00:04:58And, we know
00:05:00from all the reports
00:05:00that we had that
00:05:02that had a huge impact
00:05:02on how people voted.
00:05:04Davey said one thing was clear
00:05:04from the issue one results
00:05:07A majority of Ohioans hate
00:05:08gerrymandering
00:05:08and want to end it.
00:05:11And what we need to do
00:05:11as a state is find a way
00:05:14forward,
00:05:14how we can do that together.
00:05:16We thought we did it
00:05:16in 2015 and 2018.
00:05:20It didn't work.
00:05:20Governor DeWine himself said
00:05:20it didn't work.
00:05:23The no.
00:05:24One, one campaign
00:05:26has even said
00:05:26throughout this campaign,
00:05:28yeah, the present system, it's
00:05:28not that great, you know.
00:05:30And so
00:05:33as a state, we need
00:05:33to come together at some point
00:05:35and try to figure out
00:05:36how we can,
00:05:37end gerrymandering once
00:05:38and for all, because
00:05:38it's not good for any of us.
00:05:40It's not good for Republicans,
00:05:40Democrats and independents.
00:05:43Anybody?
00:05:43The big story of the night
00:05:43was the US Senate race.
00:05:46Republican political newcomer
00:05:46Bernie Marino won it,
00:05:49ousting three term Democratic
00:05:49incumbent Sherrod Brown.
00:05:53Marino, a former luxury
00:05:53car dealership owner
00:05:55and tech entrepreneur,
00:05:57played up his endorsement
00:05:57from Trump,
00:05:59who won Ohio by eight points
00:05:59in 2016 and in 2020,
00:06:03unofficial results show Marino
00:06:03winning by just under four
00:06:05points, while Trump won
00:06:05by about 11.5 points.
00:06:09The crowd assembled
00:06:09to watch returns and Westlake
00:06:12included Lieutenant Governor
00:06:12John Houston
00:06:14and Attorney General
00:06:14Dave Yost,
00:06:16both eyeing a run for governor
00:06:16in 2026.
00:06:19Marino took the stage
00:06:19around 11.
00:06:21today starts a new wave.
00:06:24You know, we talked about
00:06:24wanting a red wave.
00:06:26I think what we have
00:06:27tonight is a red white
00:06:27and blue wave in this country.
00:06:34Because what we need in
00:06:34the United States of America
00:06:37is leaders
00:06:37in Washington, D.C.,
00:06:39that actually put the
00:06:39interests of American citizens
00:06:43above all else.
00:06:44We're tired of being treated
00:06:44like second class citizens
00:06:48in our own country.
00:06:50We're tired of leaders
00:06:50that think we're garbage.
00:06:53And we're tired of
00:06:53being treated like garbage.
00:06:57Immigration was a centerpiece
00:06:57of Marino's campaign.
00:07:00His family
00:07:00immigrated from Colombia,
00:07:02and he has said
00:07:02he wants to revoke
00:07:03short term protective status
00:07:03for some immigrants,
00:07:06such as Haitians living
00:07:06and working in Springfield.
00:07:10where President Trump and J.D.
00:07:11Vance in the white House,
00:07:13we are going to advance
00:07:13an agenda
00:07:15that is in American agenda,
00:07:15an agenda that says we are pro
00:07:19immigration,
00:07:19but not pro invasion.
00:07:22We're going to make certain
00:07:22that the people who come to
00:07:24this country are invited
00:07:24here, are invited here.
00:07:28Like I was like
00:07:28my family was on our terms.
00:07:31Look, we're going
00:07:31to make this country
00:07:33an energy dominant nation
00:07:35so that my kids do not grow up
00:07:35in a country where we ever
00:07:39rely on a foreign nation
00:07:39for energy ever, ever again.
00:07:46And we have that
00:07:46energy right here in Ohio.
00:07:49That means coal.
00:07:51That means natural gas.
00:07:52It means oil
00:07:52and it means nuclear.
00:07:54And in terms of EV mandates,
00:07:54they need to be gone.
00:07:58First thing in January.
00:08:00There are no national mandates
00:08:02on electric vehicles, though.
00:08:03There is a state law
00:08:05that would ban
00:08:05emission standards
00:08:05mandates like California's.
00:08:08Honda is among the automakers
00:08:08that has spent hundreds
00:08:11of millions of dollars
00:08:11to increase EV production.
00:08:14Moreno is also called
00:08:14for elimination of the U.S.
00:08:17Department of Education
00:08:18and federal qualified
00:08:19immunity protections
00:08:19for police officers.
00:08:22around midnight.
00:08:23Sherrod Brown,
00:08:23the de facto standard bearer
00:08:26for the Democratic Party
00:08:26in Ohio,
00:08:27conceded the race
00:08:27with a short speech
00:08:30that never mentioned Marino.
00:08:31He started it by saying
00:08:32it would be tempting
00:08:32to question
00:08:34whether enough work
00:08:34was put into the race,
00:08:36but that that wasn't the story
00:08:36right now.
00:08:39We believe that
00:08:39all work has dignity.
00:08:41We always will.
00:08:43We believe in the power
00:08:44of people over
00:08:44corporate special interests.
00:08:47We always will.
00:08:48We believe that
00:08:48if you love this country,
00:08:50you fight for
00:08:50the people who make it work.
00:08:53We always will.
00:08:55This is a disappointment.
00:08:57That is not the feeling.
00:08:59You will never be wrong.
00:09:01Never be wrong to fight
00:09:01for organized labor.
00:09:03It will
00:09:03never be so much better.
00:09:11It should not be
00:09:14in everything
00:09:14from the fight for civil
00:09:16rights to.
00:09:25Front and center.
00:09:26For but never give. Giving up.
00:09:27Neither is time like.
00:09:30I know most of you remember
00:09:30giving up either.
00:09:32Brown had distanced himself
00:09:32from Democrats
00:09:35as he sought
00:09:35to pull in moderate
00:09:36Republicans
00:09:36and some Trump voters.
00:09:38He didn't go to the Democratic
00:09:40National Convention
00:09:40this summer.
00:09:41And it adds even mentioned
00:09:43working with Trump
00:09:43on fentanyl legislation.
00:09:46That seat was crucial
00:09:46in deciding
00:09:47which party
00:09:47would control the Senate
00:09:50and the candidates and outside
00:09:50groups spent half $1 billion
00:09:53in this race.
00:09:54That makes it the most
00:09:54expensive race in the country
00:09:57this cycle, and the costliest
00:09:57one in Ohio history.
00:10:00This loss means Democrats
00:10:00have just one person in office
00:10:03who's been elected statewide,
00:10:05Supreme Court Justice
00:10:05Jennifer Brunner,
00:10:07and it sets up a challenge
00:10:07for the party in 2026,
00:10:10with races for governor
00:10:10and the other
00:10:12for statewide
00:10:12executive offices.
00:10:14On that ballot.
00:10:15with this win
00:10:15and the vote to return Trump
00:10:18to the white House.
00:10:19There will be two brand
00:10:19new U.S.
00:10:21senators from Ohio
00:10:21who were sworn in in January,
00:10:24just after voting for Trump
00:10:24and himself in Cincinnati
00:10:27on Tuesday, Senator JD
00:10:27Vance said he was confident
00:10:30that they would win,
00:10:31but he didn't want to talk
00:10:31about
00:10:32who might succeed him
00:10:32in the US Senate.
00:10:35Know, look, I'm
00:10:36way too superstitious
00:10:36to think about those things.
00:10:38Let's get this election
00:10:38over the finish line.
00:10:40Governor Mike DeWine,
00:10:40who was a U.S.
00:10:42senator from 1995 to 2006
00:10:42when he was defeated
00:10:45by Sherrod Brown,
00:10:46will appoint the person
00:10:46who takes Vance's place.
00:10:49And he said he's already
00:10:50gotten some calls and met
00:10:52with a few possible
00:10:52contenders at their request.
00:10:55It has to be someone who will
00:10:55serve well in the Senate.
00:10:57I think
00:10:57I have a pretty good idea
00:10:58of what it takes to take
00:10:58someone
00:10:59who really, will focus
00:10:59on the state of Ohio.
00:11:03We'll focus on
00:11:03national issues.
00:11:05Someone who will really work
00:11:05hard.
00:11:06Someone
00:11:06who wants to get things done.
00:11:09These are,
00:11:09you know, qualifications,
00:11:11I think
00:11:11that are very important.
00:11:13But it also has to be someone
00:11:13who would win a primary.
00:11:16It has to be someone who can
00:11:16win a general election.
00:11:18And then two years later,
00:11:18we'll do all that again.
00:11:20So this is not for the faint
00:11:20hearted.
00:11:23This is not for someone
00:11:23who just wants to get a seat.
00:11:25This has to be someone who,
00:11:27really wants to do the job
00:11:27and do the work
00:11:30and who we think
00:11:30has the ability to do it.
00:11:32Among the names
00:11:32that have been suggested
00:11:34are former Ohio
00:11:34Republican Party chair Jane
00:11:36Timken and tech
00:11:36entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy,
00:11:39who briefly ran for president.
00:11:41But Lieutenant Governor
00:11:42John Husted and Attorney
00:11:43General Dave Yost are unlikely
00:11:43to be in the pool,
00:11:46and Yost said
00:11:46on election night
00:11:48that he would not accept
00:11:48the appointment.
00:11:51Whoever is selected
00:11:52is going to have to run
00:11:52in a special election in 2026,
00:11:55and we'll need to be able
00:11:55to bring in
00:11:56hundreds
00:11:56of millions of dollars.
00:11:58And though Bernie Marino was
00:11:58just elected to the Senate,
00:12:01he will be considered
00:12:01Ohio's senior
00:12:03senator after the appointment
00:12:03of the new senator,
00:12:05likely close
00:12:05to the end of the year.
00:12:08While Vance did not share his
00:12:08thoughts on his replacement,
00:12:11he did offer
00:12:11this after being asked
00:12:11about his message
00:12:13to those
00:12:13who did not vote for Trump.
00:12:15But obviously,
00:12:16no matter who wins,
00:12:17half the country,
00:12:17as you said, is going to be,
00:12:19at least
00:12:19partially disappointed.
00:12:21I think my attitude
00:12:21is the best way
00:12:22to heal
00:12:22the rift in the country
00:12:23is to try
00:12:23to govern the country
00:12:24as well as we can create
00:12:25as much prosperity as we can
00:12:27for the American people,
00:12:28and remind
00:12:28our fellow Americans
00:12:30that we are all fundamentally
00:12:30on the same team.
00:12:32However, we voted.
00:12:33I certainly hope
00:12:33you vote for Donald J.
00:12:35Trump today.
00:12:36I think that his policies
00:12:36are going to promote
00:12:38peace and prosperity
00:12:38for our citizens.
00:12:40But if you vote the wrong way,
00:12:40in my view,
00:12:42I'm still going to love you.
00:12:43I'm still going to treat you
00:12:43as a fellow citizen.
00:12:45And if I am lucky enough
00:12:45to be your vice president,
00:12:47I'm going to fight for hard,
00:12:47for your dreams
00:12:49and for your family
00:12:49over the next four years.
00:12:51back to state level results.
00:12:53Republicans have now gained
00:12:54near-total control
00:12:54over the Ohio Supreme Court.
00:12:58The three Republican
00:12:58candidates Justice Joe Demers,
00:13:01Hamilton County Common
00:13:01Pleas Judge Megan Shanahan
00:13:04and Franklin County Common
00:13:04Pleas Judge Dan Hawkins
00:13:07won in a margin of victory
00:13:07that was very close to Trumps.
00:13:10Dieter's, a former state
00:13:10treasurer who was also elected
00:13:13Hamilton County prosecutor
00:13:13two different times,
00:13:16unseated Democratic Justice
00:13:16Melody Stewart and said
00:13:19on election night that
00:13:19this was his last campaign.
00:13:22He had run for Stewart's
00:13:22seat to get a full six year
00:13:24term after being appointed
00:13:24to the seat
00:13:26that Sharon Kennedy,
00:13:26who won in 2020, vacated
00:13:29when she was elected
00:13:29chief justice in 2022.
00:13:32Hawkins won her seat over
00:13:32eighth District
00:13:35Court of Appeals Judge
00:13:35Lisa Forbes,
00:13:37and said he knew going in that
00:13:38he would have to run again
00:13:38in 2026.
00:13:40Shanahan knocked off
00:13:40Democratic Justice
00:13:42Michael Donnelly.
00:13:44the justices ran under
00:13:45Partizan labels
00:13:45under a law passed in 2021.
00:13:48The lone Democrat
00:13:48now on the court, Justice
00:13:50Jennifer Brunner, had sued
00:13:50to have those labels removed.
00:13:54The court is expected
00:13:54to decide
00:13:56key cases involving
00:13:56existing state laws and Ohio's
00:13:59new reproductive Rights
00:13:59and Abortion Access Amendment,
00:14:02approved by voters last year.
00:14:04On a night
00:14:04that was dark for Ohio
00:14:06Democrats,
00:14:06there were a few bright spots
00:14:08in the races
00:14:08for Ohio House and Senate.
00:14:10Mark Siegrist flipped
00:14:10the House seat
00:14:12that had been held
00:14:12by Republican Dave
00:14:13Dokes, who did not run
00:14:13for reelection.
00:14:16New maps
00:14:16change some district lines.
00:14:19Democrat Anita Samani ran
00:14:21easily,
00:14:21one in a different district.
00:14:23And Democrat Crystal
00:14:23Lett took her
00:14:24seat over Republican Senator
00:14:24Stephanie Coons, a Democrat.
00:14:28Erica White, won the seat
00:14:29that Republican
00:14:29Josh Williamson held,
00:14:31but Williams won the seat
00:14:31that had been held by Democrat
00:14:34Elgin Rogers,
00:14:35who ran unopposed
00:14:35in a different district.
00:14:38And Republican
00:14:38Levi Dean won the seat held
00:14:38by his father, building,
00:14:41who was term limited.
00:14:4372 House incumbents ran and
00:14:43won, nine of them unopposed.
00:14:47Five Democrats
00:14:47and four Republicans.
00:14:50Democrats flipped
00:14:50two seats in the Ohio Senate
00:14:52as Democratic representatives.
00:14:54Willis Blackshear
00:14:55and Beth Liston moved
00:14:55to the Senate in districts
00:14:57that had been held
00:14:57by Republicans.
00:14:59Republican former
00:14:59Representative
00:15:01Kyle Kaler won a Senate seat
00:15:03as did Democratic
00:15:03Representative Casey Weinstein
00:15:05and Republican Representative
00:15:05Tom Patten,
00:15:07who's been a senator before.
00:15:09To look back on
00:15:10what happened in the 2024
00:15:10election and why I was joined
00:15:14by my colleagues
00:15:14at the statehouse news bureau
00:15:16for the discussion, Joe Ingles
00:15:16and Sarah Donaldson.
00:15:18just under 70% of Ohio's
00:15:18registered voters cast ballots
00:15:21in this election.
00:15:22That was less
00:15:22than some expectations, Joe,
00:15:25including
00:15:25from Republican Secretary
00:15:26of State Frank LaRosa,
00:15:28who had a press conference
00:15:28on Monday saying that
00:15:31this could shatter records
00:15:31with turnout.
00:15:33Well,
00:15:33and I think he was looking
00:15:35at those early voter turnouts.
00:15:37And if you look at those
00:15:37early voter
00:15:38turnouts,
00:15:38they were shattering records.
00:15:40Okay.
00:15:41It where it came down to,
00:15:41it was Election Day itself.
00:15:45A lot of the people who had
00:15:45voted early this time around
00:15:48didn't vote on Election Day,
00:15:48and they normally would.
00:15:51So, I think if you were
00:15:51looking at when we talked
00:15:55with, Secretary of State,
00:15:55Laura's going into that day,
00:15:58I think he was basing
00:15:58that on what he saw.
00:16:00What what could happen.
00:16:02But we just did not see that
00:16:02huge groundswell of voters
00:16:06coming out. At the very end.
00:16:08And the early voting data
00:16:08showed that more Republicans
00:16:11than Democrats
00:16:12and more Republican
00:16:12affiliated voters
00:16:12than Democrat
00:16:14affiliated voters
00:16:15actually voted early,
00:16:15which goes against
00:16:18what we quite often
00:16:18have said that Democrats
00:16:20use early
00:16:20voting more than Republicans.
00:16:22That turned out
00:16:22not to be true.
00:16:24And I think there was
00:16:24an expectation
00:16:25the weather was nice
00:16:25that people would go
00:16:27vote, but, well, that's not
00:16:27what happened. Yeah.
00:16:29And there were
00:16:29unaffiliated voters.
00:16:31And if you look at the numbers
00:16:32of the unaffiliated voters
00:16:32that eclipsed
00:16:34both the Republicans
00:16:34and Democrats put together
00:16:37and, you know,
00:16:37so unaffiliated voters,
00:16:39you never know
00:16:39which way they're going to go.
00:16:41So I you know,
00:16:42when people always say,
00:16:42oh, what do you think
00:16:44is happening
00:16:44from these early vote totals?
00:16:46I'm like, just like a poll,
00:16:46I don't know,
00:16:49I can't tell you exactly.
00:16:51And it's not surprising
00:16:51that you saw this increase
00:16:54in Republican early votes,
00:16:54Republican
00:16:56affiliated early votes, to me,
00:16:56because, I mean, the Trump
00:16:59campaign was pushing that
00:17:01there was this whole hashtag
00:17:01swamp the vote movement.
00:17:04And you saw high level
00:17:05Republican politicians in Ohio
00:17:05early voting and telling
00:17:08other people to early vote.
00:17:09So it's not really super
00:17:09surprising to me
00:17:12that it wasn't just Democrats
00:17:12and unaffiliated voters
00:17:15that were driving up
00:17:15those early vote totals.
00:17:17We were all talking to voters
00:17:17throughout this,
00:17:20which is always great
00:17:20to hear from actual voters
00:17:22who planned to vote
00:17:22or who have voted.
00:17:25Sarah,
00:17:25you were out talking to voters
00:17:26on the last day of early
00:17:26voting. And Joe,
00:17:28you were out on Election Day
00:17:28talking to voters.
00:17:31What were your impressions
00:17:32about the big issues
00:17:32that these folks you talked to
00:17:35and others have said that
00:17:35they come out, came out for?
00:17:37From my perspective,
00:17:37and I only talked to Franklin
00:17:40County early voters.
00:17:41So obviously, you know,
00:17:43Franklin County generally
00:17:43skews left,
00:17:45whereas the rest of the state
00:17:45does not.
00:17:47So it's important to take that
00:17:47into consideration.
00:17:49Everyone I talked
00:17:50to, of the dozen or so voters
00:17:50I talked to on the first day
00:17:53of early voting,
00:17:53on the last day of early
00:17:53voting,
00:17:55the presidential election
00:17:55was a big draw, as it is for
00:17:58I think most voters, and issue
00:17:58one was a big draw.
00:18:00I didn't have one person
00:18:00mention the Senate race to me,
00:18:03which I thought
00:18:03was really interesting
00:18:05because, you know,
00:18:06we covered the Senate race
00:18:06so closely,
00:18:08and it was such an important
00:18:08race in Ohio.
00:18:10And it was a close
00:18:10I mean, it did end up
00:18:12being somewhat close
00:18:12even in the final results.
00:18:16But no one mentioned,
00:18:16you know,
00:18:17Sherrod Brown
00:18:17or Bernie Marino.
00:18:18To me, they mentioned
00:18:18the presidential race
00:18:21and they mentioned issue one.
00:18:22And it's interesting
00:18:22because of all the ads.
00:18:24I mean,
00:18:25half $1
00:18:25billion was spent in that race
00:18:28from the candidates
00:18:28and outside groups.
00:18:29Tons of ads all the time.
00:18:31What were your impressions of,
00:18:31voters?
00:18:34The issues that were driving
00:18:34voters?
00:18:35Well, I was I had a little bit
00:18:35different impression
00:18:37because I was up in Delaware
00:18:37County
00:18:39as well as down here,
00:18:39and you get a really different
00:18:42cross-section
00:18:42of people up there.
00:18:44The Senate race
00:18:44was on their mind.
00:18:46But so was that
00:18:47the big thing was Trump,
00:18:47and the big thing was change.
00:18:50There's a consensus
00:18:50among a lot of voters
00:18:54out there that they don't like
00:18:54what they see now.
00:18:57They don't like
00:18:57political correctness.
00:18:59They don't.
00:18:59They think that
00:19:01maybe the identity
00:19:01politics have gone too far.
00:19:04We saw some of the, late
00:19:04Moreno ads for Marino coming,
00:19:08and they were talking about
00:19:08trans issues.
00:19:11They were talking about things
00:19:11that,
00:19:14a lot of voters
00:19:14still don't understand.
00:19:18And don't,
00:19:19you know, if you don't know
00:19:19someone who's trans,
00:19:21that plays
00:19:21differently in your mind.
00:19:24There were a lot of people
00:19:24who talked about immigration.
00:19:27And again, you know,
00:19:27these are things that once
00:19:31you get out of Columbus
00:19:31and you start
00:19:33talking to people in the areas
00:19:35where I live
00:19:35and where I frequent,
00:19:38these are issues that people
00:19:38care about, and they see
00:19:41a lot of fear here.
00:19:43And what they what they don't
00:19:43want is to have, a society
00:19:48that has turned
00:19:48into some godless
00:19:50kind of thing where they don't
00:19:50have control over
00:19:54what's happening,
00:19:55and that's largely
00:19:55what they see sometimes.
00:19:58And you'll hear it
00:19:58if you talk to them,
00:20:01they will talk
00:20:01about these issues
00:20:02and, and fear
00:20:02that everything's going awry.
00:20:06And that is one of the reasons
00:20:06why Delaware County had 80%
00:20:10turnout, whereas Franklin
00:20:10County had 64% turnout.
00:20:14Lucas County this,
00:20:14played a big role in the race
00:20:18between Marcy Kaptur
00:20:18and Derek Baron, 61% turnout.
00:20:21Garfield County, 64% turnout.
00:20:24That is part of the story
00:20:24here, I think.
00:20:26So let's talk about election
00:20:26night.
00:20:28So, Joe, you were with Sherrod
00:20:28Brown in Columbus.
00:20:31Sarah,
00:20:31you were with Bernie Marino
00:20:32and was like,
00:20:32let's start with you.
00:20:34What what was the
00:20:34what was the night like?
00:20:35It was really high energy
00:20:35from the start.
00:20:38There were these
00:20:38massive shrimp towers
00:20:38that all of the reporters
00:20:41and I were laughing about,
00:20:41but it was obviously,
00:20:44I think, going to be
00:20:44a celebration.
00:20:46I think people felt really
00:20:47confident
00:20:47coming into election night
00:20:50that Bernie Marino was going
00:20:50to, quote unquote, retire.
00:20:52Sherrod Brown,
00:20:54lot of folks in MAGA hats
00:20:54and Bernie Marino buttons.
00:20:58And, you know,
00:20:58I saw this one woman who's
00:20:59walking around in this big
00:20:59elephant
00:21:02hat that
00:21:03she got a lot of photos taken,
00:21:03and she accidentally hit
00:21:05me with the elephant had at
00:21:05one point she said, I'm sorry.
00:21:07And I said, that's okay.
00:21:08It's really big.
00:21:10But, you know, the energy
00:21:10continued to rise.
00:21:14Fox news
00:21:14was playing on the TVs,
00:21:16and every time Bernie Marino
00:21:16and Sherrod races
00:21:18kind of flashed across
00:21:18because, you know,
00:21:20you're getting
00:21:20in the national information,
00:21:23there were big cheers
00:21:23as those margins
00:21:25started to get closer,
00:21:25because,
00:21:27of course, the way Ohio
00:21:27counted the votes initially,
00:21:30Sherrod Brown was on top
00:21:30and Sherrod Brown was winning.
00:21:34And then it just kept
00:21:34getting closer and closer.
00:21:36And then Bernie Marino,
00:21:36of course,
00:21:38eclipsed
00:21:38Sherrod Brown and ended up,
00:21:40the unofficial totals
00:21:40have him winning
00:21:42by about four percentage
00:21:42points, which,
00:21:43of course,
00:21:43it should be mentioned.
00:21:45And people
00:21:45were very celebratory about,
00:21:48president President
00:21:48elect Donald Trump's win
00:21:51on both in Ohio
00:21:51and across the country
00:21:54on election
00:21:54night at this party. But,
00:21:58you know, Bernie did under
00:22:00Marino did underperform,
00:22:00President Donald Trump
00:22:04by like
00:22:04eight points in the state,
00:22:04which I, you know, both sides
00:22:07of the campaign.
00:22:08And I think you may agree
00:22:08with this,
00:22:10that it was going to be
00:22:10a tough race.
00:22:11I mean,
00:22:12Sherrod Brown had said
00:22:12that was going
00:22:14to be his toughest reelection
00:22:14bid yet.
00:22:16Obviously,
00:22:16it was not successful,
00:22:18but I don't think
00:22:18anyone on Marino's side
00:22:20was saying that it was going
00:22:20to be easy either.
00:22:22They knew they were up
00:22:24against a populist Democrat
00:22:24who had a lot of popularity
00:22:28in Ohio,
00:22:28who had won tough races before
00:22:30and who fundraised like crazy.
00:22:34I mean, he tripled Brown,
00:22:34tripled
00:22:38fundraising numbers on Marino.
00:22:40So, I mean, you know, it
00:22:42obviously ended up
00:22:42a big celebration.
00:22:43People were really happy.
00:22:45They were hooting
00:22:45and hollering.
00:22:46Marino did
00:22:47a lap of the crowd,
00:22:47was talking to
00:22:49people,
00:22:49was talking to the press.
00:22:51And you know, it was
00:22:51it was a party
00:22:54and a different mood
00:22:54for Sherrod Brown
00:22:56and the Ohio Democratic Party
00:22:56here in Columbus.
00:22:58Yeah.
00:22:59You know, they're the party
00:22:59wasn't that big, really.
00:23:02It was a supporter,
00:23:02some supporters.
00:23:05But, it really came ebbed
00:23:05and flowed the whole night.
00:23:09It wasn't I wouldn't say
00:23:09it was a celebration.
00:23:13I would say that they were
00:23:13watching the results.
00:23:16But I did notice at the end,
00:23:18they started putting up their
00:23:18own slide instead of MSNBC
00:23:23when the race started
00:23:23getting close.
00:23:24And,
00:23:25when the actual race
00:23:25was called, we did not see it
00:23:29in the ballroom.
00:23:29We saw a slide.
00:23:31Now the reporters, we saw it
00:23:31because we're watching
00:23:34you know, our computers and
00:23:34we're seeing what's going on.
00:23:37But, you know,
00:23:37it was a different element.
00:23:39But I think the thing that we,
00:23:41you know, one thing
00:23:42that we really need
00:23:42to talk about in this race
00:23:44is the effect of the outside
00:23:44money.
00:23:47Yeah, you're right
00:23:48that Sherrod Brown outraised
00:23:48Bernie Marino by a lot.
00:23:51But when you look
00:23:51at this outside money
00:23:54that came in
00:23:55and the messages that
00:23:55they were hitting with that
00:23:58it was very hard.
00:23:59I know Sherrod
00:23:59Brown had taken out an
00:24:01ad that tried to hit
00:24:01back on the trans issue, but,
00:24:04you know,
00:24:04you've got a lot of messaging
00:24:04out there, on that issue.
00:24:08And when you've got a lot of
00:24:08money coming in, flooding it,
00:24:12and you can't control
00:24:12the message necessarily,
00:24:15it's a difficult thing.
00:24:16And that leads to the question
00:24:17that we only have
00:24:17a couple more minutes left.
00:24:19That leads to the question
00:24:19of what happens
00:24:20with the Ohio
00:24:20Democratic Party.
00:24:22Now they have one statewide
00:24:22officeholder
00:24:24and Supreme Court Justice
00:24:24Jennifer Brunner.
00:24:26Yeah. What
00:24:26where do they go from here?
00:24:28They got to do some soul
00:24:28searching.
00:24:29They have to do some soul
00:24:29searching.
00:24:31They have to figure out
00:24:32why they're losing places
00:24:32that they used to win.
00:24:36And I think, you know, that
00:24:36maybe involves them
00:24:40getting out
00:24:40into those communities
00:24:42and actually establishing
00:24:42some communities
00:24:45have no Democratic
00:24:45headquarters.
00:24:47Some places,
00:24:47if you're a Democrat
00:24:49and you wanted
00:24:49to go to their office
00:24:52to talk to someone, there's
00:24:52no Democratic Party office.
00:24:55And you wanted to add
00:24:55something.
00:24:57Well, and I was going to say
00:24:58just quickly, briefly
00:24:58on that back issue, you
00:25:01obviously on the flip side
00:25:01of Brown kind of hitting back
00:25:05on transgender issues, LGBTQ
00:25:05folks break for Democrats.
00:25:09So any Democrat
00:25:09who tries to combat
00:25:12that is risking alienating
00:25:12LGBTQ voters as well.
00:25:18I totally agree with
00:25:18Joe on the soul searching.
00:25:21And I think
00:25:21the Democratic Party at large
00:25:21has to do some soul searching
00:25:25after election night because,
00:25:25you know, it was never going
00:25:28to be easy for Harris.
00:25:30But I think that
00:25:32it showed
00:25:32that Trump has just grown
00:25:36his popularity
00:25:36tenfold in eight years.
00:25:39And that is it for this week
00:25:39for my colleagues
00:25:41at the Statehouse News
00:25:41Bureau of Ohio Public Media.
00:25:43Thanks for watching.
00:25:44Please check out our website
00:25:44at State news.org
00:25:47or find us online by searching
00:25:47State of Ohio Show.
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