Ohio voters are choosing a new governor to replace Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who cannot run again because of term limits. Democrat Amy Acton, a physician, faces Republican Vivek Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur, former presidential candidate and ally of President Trump.
Acton served as Ohio's public health director early in the COVID-19 pandemic, appointed by DeWine. The strict public health measures she put in place drew a backlash, and that record has been a theme in the race.
The campaign turned personal in its final weeks. Ramaswamy's campaign ran an ad featuring Acton's estranged mother calling Acton a "liar." According to the Associated Press, Acton was removed from her mother's custody at age 12. Trump stood by Ramaswamy, while DeWine called for the ad to come down. Ramaswamy said last week that the ad's run was over.
Final polling averages showed Acton ahead by about 4 points. Polls are not results.
Ohio also has a closely watched U.S. Senate special election between Republican Sen. Jon Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown, plus competitive House races after mid-decade redistricting, including the 9th District, where Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur faces Derek Merrin in a rematch.
Ohio polls close at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, 6:30 p.m. Central.
Ballots are counted by state and local election officials. Raw 100.5 does not call races. Like NPR and PBS, we rely on the Associated Press, which declares a winner only when it determines a trailing candidate has no path left to win.
Sources: Associated Press, PBS News, FiftyPlusOne, Newsweek