2020 Ohio Senate election

The 2020 Ohio Senate election was held on November 3, 2020, with the primary election held on April 28, 2020.[lower-alpha 2] Ohio voters elected state senators in the 16 even-numbered Ohio Senate districts. State senators elected in 2020 will be eligible to serve a four-year term beginning January 2021 and ending December 2024. These elections coincided with elections for U.S. President and the Ohio House.

2020 Ohio Senate election

November 3, 2020
16 seats from even-numbered districts in the Ohio Senate 17 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	74.0% (2.7pp)[lower-alpha 1]
Leader Larry Obhof Kenny Yuko Party Republican Democratic Leader since January 3, 2019 April 26, 2017 Leader's seat District 22 District 25 Seats before 24 9 Seats after 25 8 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 1,754,433 1,097,400 Percentage 61.47% 38.45% Swing 5.14% 5.07%
Results      Democratic hold      Democratic gain      Republican hold      Republican gain      Not up for election
President of the Ohio Senate before election Larry Obhof Republican Elected President of the Ohio Senate Matt Huffman Republican

Although Democrats had hoped to break the Republican supermajority in the chamber (which would have required them to pick up three seats), they ended up losing one, further consolidating Republican control.

Statewide results

Party		Candidates	Votes			Seats Won
			No.	%	+/–	No.	+/–	%
	Republican Party	16	1,754,433	61.48	5.14	15	1	93.75
	Democratic Party	16	1,097,400	38.45	5.07	1	1	6.25
	Independent	2	1,950	0.07	0.07	0	0	0.00
Total			2,853,783	100.00		16		100.00

Popular vote Republican   61.48% Democratic   38.45% Independent   0.07%

Senate seats won Republican   93.75% Democratic   6.25%

Results by district

Overview

Results of the 2020 Ohio Senate election

District	Incumbent Status	Incumbent		Winner		Result
2nd	Running		Theresa Gavarone			Incumbent Republican re-elected
4th	Term-limited		Bill Coley		George Lang	Republican hold
6th	Term-limited		Peggy Lehner		Niraj Antani	Republican hold
8th	Running		Louis Blessing			Incumbent Republican re-elected
10th	Running		Bob Hackett			Incumbent Republican re-elected
12th	Running		Matt Huffman			Incumbent Republican re-elected
14th	Running		Terry Johnson			Incumbent Republican re-elected
16th	Running		Stephanie Kunzie			Incumbent Republican re-elected
18th	Term-limited		John Eklund		Jerry Cirino	Republican hold
20th	Running		Tim Schaffer			Incumbent Republican re-elected
22nd	Term-limited		Larry Obhof		Mark Romanchuk	Republican hold
24th	Running		Matt Dolan			Incumbent Republican re-elected
26th	Term-limited		David Burke		Bill Reineke	Republican hold
28th	Running		Vernon Sykes			Incumbent Democrat re-elected
30th	Running		Frank Hoagland			Incumbent Republican re-elected
32nd	Running		Sean O'Brien		Sandra O'Brien	Republican gain

Detailed results

[3]

District 2 • District 4 • District 6 • District 8 • District 10 • District 12 • District 14 • District 16 • District 18 • District 20 • District 22 • District 24 • District 26 • District 28 • District 30 • District 32

District 2

Primary results

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Joel O'Dorisio	12,170	52.2
	Democratic	Reem Subei	11,162	47.8
Total votes			23,332	100.0

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Theresa Gavarone (incumbent)	17,352	100.0
Total votes			17,352	100.0

General election results

Ohio's 2nd Senate District General Election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Theresa Gavarone (incumbent)	122,084	62.2
	Democratic	Joel O'Dorisio	74,240	37.8
Total votes			196,324	100.0
	Republican hold		Swing	4.2

Primary results

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathy Wyenandt	12,568	100.0
Total votes			12,568	100.0

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George Lang	12,579	49.4
	Republican	Candice Keller	8,318	32.7
	Republican	Lee Wong	4,568	17.9
Total votes			25,465	100.0

General election results

Ohio's 4th Senate District General Election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George Lang	106,021	60.5
	Democratic	Kathy Wyenandt	68,000	38.8
	Independent	Kent Keller (write-in)	1,126	0.6
Total votes			175,147	100.0
	Republican hold		Swing	7.1

Primary results

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Mark Fogel	16,867	82.2
	Democratic	Albert Griggs, Jr.	3,643	17.8
Total votes			20,510	100.0

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Niraj Antani	14,866	64.4
	Republican	Rachel Selby	5,317	23.1
	Republican	Gregory Alan Robinson	2,885	12.5
Total votes			23,068	100.0

General election results

Ohio's 6th Senate District General Election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Niraj Antani	99,096	53.2
	Democratic	Mark Fogel	87,280	46.8
Total votes			186,376	100.0
	Republican hold		Swing	14.9

Primary results

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Daniel Brown	18,091	100.0
Total votes			18,091	100.0

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Louis Blessing (incumbent)	20,544	100.0
Total votes			20,544	100.0

General election results

Ohio's 8th Senate District General Election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Louis Blessing (incumbent)	112,313	60.1
	Democratic	Daniel Brown	74,565	39.9
Total votes			186,878	100.0
	Republican hold		Swing	2.8

Primary Results

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Charles Ballard	16,232	100.0
Total votes			16,232	100.0

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Hackett (incumbent)	29,116	100.0
Total votes			29,116	100.0

General Election Results

Ohio's 10th Senate District General Election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bob Hackett (incumbent)	109,456	65.3
	Democratic	Charles Ballard	58,126	34.7
Total votes			167,582	100.0
	Republican hold		Swing	0.2

Primary Results

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ken Poling	10,900	100.0
Total votes			10,900	100.0

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Matt Huffman (incumbent)	33,710	100.0
Total votes			33,710	100.0

General Election Results

79.3

Ohio's 12th Senate District General Election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Matt Huffman (incumbent)	129,218
	Democratic	Ken Poling	33,800	20.7
Total votes			164,018	100.0
	Republican hold		Swing	20.7[lower-alpha 3]

Primary Results

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ryan Ottney	13,060	100.0
Total votes			13,060	100.0

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Terry Johnson (incumbent)	29,928	76.3
	Republican	David Uible	9,278	23.7
Total votes			39,206	100.0

General Election Results

Ohio's 14th Senate District General Election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Terry Johnson (incumbent)	127,588	72.7
	Democratic	Ryan Ottney	47,843	27.3
Total votes			175,431	100.0
	Republican hold		Swing	0.8

Primary Results

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Crystal Lett	23,349	78.8
	Democratic	Troy Doucet	4,389	14.8
	Democratic	Mark Bailey	1,880	6.4
Total votes			29,618	100.0

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stephanie Kunze (incumbent)	13,098	100.0
Total votes			13,098	100.0

General Election Results

Ohio's 16th Senate District General Election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Stephanie Kunze (incumbent)	106,053	50.0
	Democratic	Crystal Lett	105,937	50.0
Total votes			211,990	100.0
	Republican hold		Swing	9.0

Primary Results

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Betsy Rader	23,183	100.0
Total votes			23,183	100.0

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jerry Cirino	23,690	100.0
Total votes			23,690	100.0

General Election Results

Ohio's 18th Senate District General Election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Jerry Cirino	115,754	60.5
	Democratic	Betsy Rader	75,535	39.5
Total votes			191,289	100.0
	Republican hold		Swing	4.8

Primary Results

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Christian Johnson	13,993	100.0
Total votes			13,993	100.0

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tim Schaffer (incumbent)	25,458	100.0
Total votes			25,458	100.0

General Election Results

Ohio's 20th Senate District General Election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Tim Schaffer (incumbent)	121,844	69.5
	Democratic	Christian Johnson	53,477	30.5
Total votes			175,321	100.0
	Republican hold		Swing	30.5[lower-alpha 4]

Primary Results

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Steve Johnson	16,506	100.0
Total votes			16,506	100.0

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Romanchuk	17,629	58.3
	Republican	Ron Falconi	6,909	22.8
	Republican	Cory Branham	3,701	12.2
	Republican	Michael Reynolds	1,289	4.3
	Republican	Timothy Hoven	726	2.4
Total votes			30,254	100.0

General Election Results

Ohio's 22nd Senate District General Election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Mark Romanchuk	130,273	68.9
	Democratic	Ryan Hunger[lower-alpha 5]	58,924	31.1
Total votes			189,197	100.0
	Republican hold		Swing	0.9

Primary Results

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Tom Jackson	28,496	100.0
Total votes			28,496	100.0

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Matt Dolan (incumbent)	18,161	100.0
Total votes			18,161	100.0

General Election Results

Ohio's 24th Senate District General Election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Matt Dolan (Incumbent)	112,609	54.3
	Democratic	Tom Jackson	94,633	45.7
Total votes			207,242	100.0
	Republican hold		Swing	3.8

Primary Results

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Craig Swartz	14,208	100.0
Total votes			14,208	100.0

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Reineke	25,363	64.7
	Republican	Melissa Ackison	13,864	35.3
Total votes			39,227	100.0

General Election Results

Ohio's 26th Senate District General Election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Bill Reineke	114,776	70.6
	Democratic	Craig Swartz	47,050	28.9
	Independent	Robert Taylor (write-in)	824	0.5
Total votes			162,650	100.0
	Republican hold		Swing	29.4[lower-alpha 6]

Primary Results

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Vernon Sykes (incumbent)	24,995	100.0
Total votes			24,995	100.0

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Michael Downey	8,626	100.0
Total votes			8,626	100.0

General Election Results

Ohio's 28th Senate District General Election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Vernon Sykes (incumbent)	88,929	59.8
	Republican	Michael Downey	59,701	40.2
Total votes			148,630	100.0
	Democratic hold		Swing	1.4

Primary Results

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Michael Fletcher	19,731	100.0
Total votes			19,731	100.0

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Frank Hoagland (incumbent)	24,726	100.0
Total votes			24,726	100.0

General Election Results

Ohio's 30th Senate District General Election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Frank Hoagland (incumbent)	110,243	66.8
	Democratic	Michael Fletcher	54.694	33.2
Total votes			164,937	100.0
	Republican hold		Swing	13.9

Primary Results

Democratic primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Sean O'Brien (incumbent)	26,151	100.0
Total votes			26,151	100.0

Republican primary

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sandra O'Brien	13,519	69.3
	Republican	Kenneth Polke	5,983	30.7
Total votes			19,502	100.0

General Election Results

Ohio's 32nd Senate District General Election, 2020

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Sandra O'Brien	77,404	51.0
	Democratic	Sean O'Brien (incumbent)	74,367	49.0
Total votes			151,771	100.0
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing	7.4

See also

• 2020 Ohio elections

Notes

1. Compared to 2016, the last time these seats were up.
2. The primary election was originally scheduled for March 17, 2020. As a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Mike DeWine announced that the primary would be moved to June 2.[1] Shortly thereafter, the Ohio General Assembly passed a bill setting an almost entirely vote-by-mail primary for April 28.[2]
3. Seat was uncontested in the previous election.
4. Seat was uncontested in the previous election.
5. Hunger replaced Johnson after the latter withdrew from the race after the primary due to health concerns.[4]
6. Seat was uncontested in the previous election.

References

1. Hancock, Laura; clevel; .com; Tobias, rew J.; clevel; .com (2020-03-16). "Gov. Mike DeWine wants to postpone Ohio's Tuesday primary election till June 2 due to coronavirus". cleveland. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
2. Tobias, rew J.; clevel; .com (2020-03-25). "Ohio lawmakers sets all-mail primary election through April 28; legal challenge still possible". cleveland. Retrieved 2020-05-29.
3. "2020 Official Elections Results - Ohio Secretary of State". www.sos.state.oh.us. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
4. "New Ohio Senate District 22 candidate steps up". medina-gazette.com. Retrieved 2020-09-24.

External links

• "League of Women Voters of Ohio". (State affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
• Ohio at Ballotpedia
• Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "Ohio", Voting & Elections Toolkits
• "Ohio: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org, Oakland, CA
• National Institute on Money in Politics; Campaign Finance Institute, "Ohio 2019 & 2020 Elections", Followthemoney.org