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U.S. House and Senate: Republicans keep Congress

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Moderate Republican incumbents held& on firmly to their seats in Ohio’s U.S. Congressional races.

U.S. Senate

Incumbent Republican Rob Portman handily won his bid for a second term in the U.S. Senate against Democratic challenger and former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland. The Ohio polls had barely closed Tuesday evening when the Cincinnati-based Portman was declared the winner by the Associated Press. 

Portman took 58.4 percent of the votes in the state compared to Strickland’s 36.8 percent. In Greene County, the difference was even wider, with Portman earning 68.55 percent of the county vote compared to 27.28 percent for Strickland, according to unofficial results Wednesday.

Though Portman had distanced himself from the Republican presidential nominee, his win, which helped secure the retention of a narrow Republican majority in the Senate, was widely expected. 

Strickland, who was Ohio governor from 2007 through 2011, and, prior to that, served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, was the target of political advertising that blamed him for losing 350,000 jobs in the state while he was governor. 

Portman benefited from tens of millions of dollars in outside support, most significantly from oil magnates David and Charles Koch.

Also on the ballot were Green Party candidate Joseph DeMare, who took 1.6 percent of the state vote, and Independents Thomas Connors and Scott Rupert, who earned 1.7 and 1.4 percent respectively. Countywide, the percentages were DeMare, 1.53 percent; Connors, 1.32 percent; and Rupert, 1.26 percent.

U.S. House, 10th District

Incumbent Republican Mike Turner outdistanced Democratic challenger Robert Klepinger by nearly two-to-one, with Independent candidate Tom McMasters following a distant third in the 2016 race for the U.S. House’s 10th District. 

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Turner had 64.4 percent; Klepinger, 32.4 percent; and McMasters, 3.2 percent. In Greene County, the difference was more stark, with Turner taking 71.25 percent of the vote; Kleminger, 26.29 percent; and McMasters, 2.39 percent.

Turner, a former mayor of Dayton, has been in Congress since 2002 (representing the 3rd District before redistricting). Klepinger, a high school chemistry teacher from Harrison Township, ran against Turner in 2014 and was defeated soundly then as well. McMasters is the current mayor of Huber Heights.

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