2010 Ohio gubernatorial election

The 2010 Ohio gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic Governor Ted Strickland ran for re-election to a second term as governor and was opposed by former U.S. Representative John Kasich; both Strickland and Kasich won their respective primaries uncontested. The race between the two major candidates was prolonged and brutal, with both candidates employing various campaign surrogates to bolster their campaigns. Ultimately, Kasich narrowly defeated Strickland in one of Ohio's closest gubernatorial elections in history.

2010 Ohio gubernatorial election

November 2, 2010
 
Nominee John Kasich Ted Strickland
Party Republican Democratic
Running mate Mary Taylor Yvette Brown
Popular vote 1,889,186 1,812,059
Percentage 49.0% 47.0%

Kasich:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%
Strickland:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Governor before election

Ted Strickland
Democratic

Elected Governor

John Kasich
Republican

Strickland's defeat was widely attributed to the decline of Ohio's economy, as well as the loss of 400,000 jobs since the beginning of his term. The policies of the then-president Barack Obama proved to be a hot topic among voters, with Strickland voicing his support for the healthcare overhauls initiated by Obama's administration, contrary to Kasich, who opposed the policies.[1] As of 2023, this is the last time an incumbent governor of Ohio lost re-election.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Results

Democratic primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Ted Strickland (incumbent) 630,785 100.00%
Total votes 630,785 100.00%

Republican primary

Candidates

Results

Republican primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican John Kasich 746,719 100.00%
Total votes 746,719 100.00%

Libertarian primary

Candidates

  • Ken Matesz

Results

Libertarian Party primary results[4]
Party Candidate Votes %
Libertarian Ken Matesz 4,407 100.00%
Total votes 4,407 100.00%

Green primary

Candidates

  • Dennis Spisak, former congressional candidate

Results

Green Party primary results[5]
Party Candidate Votes %
Green Dennis Spisak 924 100.00%
Total votes 924 100.00%

General election

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
Cook Political Report[6] Tossup October 14, 2010
Rothenberg[7] Tilt R (flip) October 28, 2010
RealClearPolitics[8] Tossup November 1, 2010
Sabato's Crystal Ball[9] Lean R (flip) October 28, 2010
CQ Politics[10] Tossup October 28, 2010

Polling

Poll source Date(s) administered Ted
Strickland (D)
John
Kasich (R)
Public Policy Polling October 28–30, 2010 48% 49%
Angus Reid Public Opinion October 27–29, 2010 46% 49%
Survey USA October 22–26, 2010 44% 49%
Quinnipiac University October 18–24, 2010 43% 49%
Fox News/POR October 23, 2010 43% 47%
CNN/Time Magazine October 15–19, 2010 48% 46%
University of Cincinnati October 14–18, 2010 47% 49%
Quinnipiac University October 12–17, 2010 41% 51%
University of Cincinnati October 8–13, 2010 43% 51%
Rasmussen Reports October 11, 2010 45% 48%
Fox News/POR October 9, 2010 42% 47%
Angus Reid Public Opinion October 5–8, 2010 46% 48%
Quinnipiac University September 29 – October 3, 2010 41% 50%
Fox News/POR October 2, 2010 43% 49%
Rasmussen Reports September 27, 2010 42% 50%
CBS/NY Times September 23–27, 2010 42% 43%
Reuters/Ipsos September 23–25, 2010 46% 47%
Ohio Newspapers Poll/UC September 24, 2010 45% 49%
SurveyUSA September 14, 2010 40% 52%
CNN/Time Magazine September 10–14, 2010 44% 51%
Quinnipiac September 9–14, 2010 37% 54%
Rasmussen Reports September 13, 2010 43% 50%
Fox News/Pulse Research September 11, 2010 43% 48%
The Columbus Dispatch August 25 – September 3, 2010 37% 49%
Rasmussen Reports August 30, 2010 39% 47%
Public Policy Polling August 27–29, 2010 40% 50%
Rasmussen Reports August 16, 2010 40% 48%
Reuters/Ipsos August 6–8, 2010 39% 48%
Rasmussen Reports August 2, 2010 42% 45%
Rasmussen Reports July 19, 2010 43% 48%
Rasmussen Reports June 29, 2010 40% 47%
Public Policy Polling June 26–27, 2010 41% 43%
Quinnipiac June 22–27, 2010 43% 38%
Rasmussen Reports June 3, 2010 42% 47%
UC/The Ohio Poll May 11–20, 2010 49% 44%
Rasmussen Reports May 5, 2010 45% 46%
Quinnipiac April 21–26, 2010 44% 38%
Research 2000 April 5–7, 2010 45% 40%
Rasmussen Reports March 30, 2010 45% 46%
Quinnipiac March 23–29, 2010 43% 38%
Public Policy Polling March 20–21, 2010 37% 42%
Rasmussen Reports March 4, 2010 38% 49%
Quinnipiac February 16–21, 2010 44% 39%
Rasmussen Reports February 5–6, 2010 41% 47%
The Ohio Newspaper January 13–19, 2010 45% 51%
Ohio Right to Life January 8–12, 2010 33% 43%
Rasmussen Reports January 12, 2010 40% 47%
Rasmussen Reports December 7, 2009 39% 48%
Quinnipiac November 5–9, 2009 40% 40%
The Ohio Newspaper October 14–20, 2009 48% 47%
Rasmussen Reports September 23, 2009 45% 46%
Quinnipiac September 10–13, 2009 46% 36%
Research 2000 July 8, 2009 44% 39%
Quinnipiac June 26 – July 1, 2009 43% 38%
Public Policy Polling June 17–19, 2009 44% 42%
Quinnipiac April 28 – May 4, 2009 51% 32%
Quinnipiac March 10–15, 2009 51% 31%
Quinnipiac January 29 – February 2, 2009 56% 26%
Public Policy Polling January 17–18, 2009 45% 39%

Results

When the polls closed on election night, the race was very close, with Strickland and Kasich neck and neck. As the night wore on, Kasich's lead began to pick up strength, however once Cuyahoga County came in, Kasich's lead began to erode. In the end Kasich still won, but it was one of the closest gubernatorial elections in Ohio history. Strickland conceded at around 2 A.M. EST.

2010 Ohio gubernatorial election[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican John Kasich 1,889,186 49.04% +12.39%
Democratic Ted Strickland (incumbent) 1,812,059 47.04% -13.50%
Libertarian Ken Matesz 92,116 2.39% +0.61%
Green Dennis Spisak 58,475 1.52% +0.50%
Write-in 633 0.02% N/A
Majority 77,127 2.00% -21.89%
Total votes 3,852,469 100.00%
Republican gain from Democratic

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

References

Debates
Official campaign websites (Archived)
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