OHIO
      Nov. 2, 2010 Governor

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 Sen.1
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+John Kasich/Mary Taylor (R)
1,889,186
 49.04%
Ted Strickland/Yvette McGee Brown (D) i
 1,812,059
 47.04%
Ken Matesz/Margaret Ann Leech (L)
 92,116
 2.39%
Dennis Spisak/Anita Rios (G)
 58,475
 1.52%
David Sargent (w/in)
 633
 0.02%

3,852,469
Registered voters: 8,037,806.  Ballots counted: 3,956,045.
Plurality: 77,127 votes (2.00 percentage points).
OH Secretar of State


REPUBLICAN PICK UP
Notes: Former U.S. Rep. John Kasich (R) defeated incumbent Gov. Ted Strickland (D) by 2.00 percentage points (1, 2); two third party candidate garnered a bit less than 4-percent of the vote.

Kasich brought a long political resume to his campaign.  After working for three years as an aide in the Ohio Senate, he was elected to the Senate at age 26 in 1978.  He was elected to Congress in 1982 and re-elected eight times.  Kasich achieved a high profile as ranking member and chairman of the House Budget Committee. In 1999 he waged a five-month exploratory campaign for the Republican presidential nomination.  Kasich did not seek re-election in 2000, and in 2001 he joined Fox News Channel as a commentator and joined Lehman Brothers as a managing director of its Investment Banking Division in Columbus.  Kasich launched his campaign for governor at a rally in Westerville on June 1, 2009.  He announced state Auditor Mary Taylor as his running mate on Jan. 14, 2010 (>).

Strickland waged three unsuccessful campaigns for Congress before being elected in 1992.  He lost his re-election bid in 1994, but won election in 1996 and served for the next decade until his election as governor in 2006.  On Jan. 19, 2010 Strickland announced former juvenile court judge Yvette McGee Brown (D) as his running mate; the current Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher was running for U.S. Senate.

Neither Kasich nor Strickland faced a challenger in the May 4 primaries.  

The general election campaign started with a lot of negative advertising.  Kasich and his campaign focused on job losses and economic performance under Strickland (the unemployment rate peaked at 10.2% in 2009 and 10.3% in 2010). Strickland and his campaign focused much of their efforts on hammering Kasich for his work at Lehman Brothers and ties to Wall Street.

Strickland and Kasich engaged in two debates:

Sept. 14 - hosted by WBNS-TV and Ohio News Network in Columbus (1, 2);

Oct. 7 - sponsored by the Ohio Newspaper Organization at the University of Toledo in Toledo.
  
In the Fall, Democrats brought in a steady stream of outside luminaries to boost support including:

Aug. 18 - President Obama at a fundraiser in Columbus;

Sept. 6 - Vice President Biden attends Labor Day parade in Toledo;

Sept. 14 - Former President Clinton fundraisers and rallies in Columbus and Cleveland;

Sept. 20 - Biden at a fundraiser in Dayton and rally in Akron;

Oct. 17 - Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at a "Moving America Forward" rally at Ohio State University (>);

Oct. 30 - Clinton at Mahoning County Democratic pre-Election Day breakfast in Boardman;

Oct. 31 - Obama and Biden in  a rally at Cleveland State University (>).

The two campaigns spent a total of $33.9 million, Kasich $17.2 milion to $16.7 million for Strickland.  Outside groups weighed in as well; for example the Republican Governors Association spent $11 million, more than in any other state.

Kasich carried 61 counties to 27 for Strickland.  Counties going for Strickland were 10 in the Northeast and North and 15 in the Southwest, plus Montgomery (Dayton) and Franklin (Columbus).  Kasich campaign manager Beth Hansen noted on LinkedIn that he was the first candidate in 36 years to overthrow an incumbent governor in one of the closest statewide elections in Ohio history and the first candidate with zero statewide experience to beat an incumbent in 86 years.

 
Campaign Managers:
John Kasich:  Beth Hansen
(Jan. 2010)  State director and senior advisor to U.S. Sen. George Voinovich, for 11 years to Jan. 2010; worked on Voinovich's 1998 campaign.  B.A. in economics from University of Michigan.  Michigan native.

Ted Strickland:  Aaron Pickrell
(Jan. 2010)  Ohio state director on Obama for America, June-Dec. 2008.  COO to Gov. Strickland, Jan. 2007-June 2008.  Campaign manager on the Strickland for Governor campaign, Mar.-Nov. 2006.  Chief operating officer at DCS Congressional, Mar. 2005-Mar. 2006.  Political director on John Edwards' Iowa caucus campaign, Feb. 2003-Nov. 2004.  Chief of staff to Rep. Leonard Boswell, Jan. 2001-Feb. 2003.  Worked a stint at Kieloch Consulting in Washington, DC.  Finance director for Vilsack/Pederson Inaugural Committee, 1999.  Finance director/deputy campaign manager for Boswell's re-election campaign, 1997-98.  Deputy director of operations for the Iowa Democratic Party, 1995-96.  Field staff/office manager on Nagle for Congress in Waterloo, Jan.-May 1995.  B.A. in political science from Iowa State University, 1997.


See also:
--.  "Top Ohio race set spending record."  The Blade, Dec. 10, 2010.

Staff.  "Governors group spent $11 million for Kasich."  The Columbus Dispatch, Nov. 17, 2010.

Jim Provance.  "Ohio governor candidates' attack ads make early TV debut."  The Blade, June 28, 2010.

Mark Naymik.  "Political ads in race for Ohio governor hit airwaves early."  The Plain Dealer, May 30, 2010.

Gail Russell Chaddock.  "The most important governor's race? Why top politicians are flocking to Ohio."  The Chrisitian Science Monitor, Sept. 9, 2010.

Marc Kovac.  "Strickland names Brown his running mate in re-election campaign."  Akron Beacon Journal, Jan. 24, 2010.

Staff.  "Kasich announces run for governor in 2010."  The Columbus Dispatch, June 1, 2009.

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