COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a race that pitted a former major metropolitan city mayor against an attorney turned politician, Ohio has selected Mike DeWine as its governor for the next four years.
DeWine, the incumbent, faced Whaley, Dayton’s former mayor, during a midterm election that sought to change the political power balance in the state from red to blue.
The pair was split on many topics such as how to best move the state forward from the pandemic to gun rights and abortion, with each one’s talking points over the past few months mirroring their political affiliation’s broader views.
Both candidates survived contested primaries to face each other. DeWine overcame two far-right opponents who criticized him for his aggressive decisions early in the pandemic, including a business shut-down order and a statewide mask mandate. Despite more than four decades in Ohio politics, DeWine failed to secure 50% of the primary vote.
Since the primary, Whaley hammered DeWine for signing those gun bills and for his anti-abortion positions, including his 2019 signing into law of Ohio's anti-abortion “fetal heartbeat bills.”
DeWine’s campaign resisted attack ads against Whaley until late summer, when it criticized her for supporting the American Rescue Plan Act in her role as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. The ads fail to mention that DeWine promoted grants the state received through the pandemic relief measure.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
AP modified copyright
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