U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty (D-OH) speaking at the National Action Network (NAN) Commitment March at the Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall on August 28, 2020. Credit: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via TNS
Ohio’s 3rd District:
Ohio’s 3rd Congressional District will have a familiar face serving as its representative.
Preliminary results show that Democratic incumbent Joyce Beatty will win her fifth consecutive bid Tuesday for the campus-area district, defeating Republican challenger Mark Richardson. Beatty has served in the position since 2013 and will hold the seat for the next two years.
Beatty will hold her seat with 70.6 percent of the vote with all precincts reported and only absentee ballots not received by boards of elections prior to Election Day to be counted. Ohio accepts absentee ballots 10 days after the election as long as they are postmarked by the Monday before the election.
Beatty was favored to retain her seat following her victory in the primary over challenger Morgan Harper in April.
In her time as congresswoman, Beatty served as the primary sponsor of two enacted bills, one raising awareness surrounding human trafficking issues in the United States and the other promoting financial literacy in higher education.
Beatty has been in staunch opposition to President Donald Trump since his election in 2016 and has criticized his response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She also opposed Amy Coney Barrett’s nomination to the Supreme Court in October.
U.S. Representative Troy Balderson (R-OH) speaking at the House Committee on Small Business hearing titled “Oversight of the Small Business Administration and Department of Treasury Pandemic Programs on July 17, 2020. Credit: Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA via TNS
Ohio’s 12th District:
Republican Troy Balderson pulled off a victory to earn his second full term as Ohio’s 12th Congressional District representative, preliminary results show.
The incumbent Balderson beat out Democrat Alaina Shearer and Libertarian John Stewart to retain his seat. In what was a tight race until Election Day, Balderson won the majority with 55.3 percent of the vote with all precincts reported and only absentee ballots not received by boards of elections prior to Election Day to be counted. Ohio accepts absentee ballots 10 days after the election as long as they are postmarked by the Monday before the election..
Balderson took over as Ohio’s 12th district representative in 2018, when he won a special election against Danny O’Connor (D) to fill longtime representative Pat Tiberi’s (R) seat. Balderson then went on to win the general election against O’Connor to secure the seat for the next two years after serving as representative for three months.
Balderson beat out Tim Day (R) in April’s primary to hold the Republican nomination for his reelection bid.
In his first term as congressman, Balderson served on the Science, Space and Technology and Small Business committees.
Balderson, an Ohio State graduate, has been a key supporter of President Donald Trump since he entered office, supporting his calls to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and backing his plan to build a wall along the Mexican border.
Update: This article was updated Wednesday at 10:12 a.m. with voting data from all reporting election precincts.
