The 2010 Ohio gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010.

Incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-ele ...

Democratic

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Ted Strickland Theodore Strickland (born August 4, 1941) is an American politician who was the 68th governor of Ohio, serving from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States House of Representatives, representing ...

ran for re-election to a second term as governor and was opposed by former U.S. Representative

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasic ...

; 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. This was the first election since 1946 in which an incumbent Democratic Ohio governor lost re-election to someone other than

Jim Rhodes James Allen Rhodes (September 13, 1909 – March 4, 2001) was an American Republican politician who served as Governor of Ohio from 1963 to 1971 and again from 1975 to 1983. , Rhodes was one of only seven U.S. governors to serve four four-yea ...

. 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 Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

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.

Democratic primary

Candidates

, incumbent Governor of Ohio

Results

Republican primary

Candidates

, former U.S. Representative, Chairman of the

House Budget Committee The United States House Committee on the Budget, commonly known as the House Budget Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Its responsibilities include legislative oversight of the federal budget process, ...

and candidate for president in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

Results

Libertarian primary

Candidates

* Ken Matesz

Results

Green primary

Candidates

*Dennis Spisak, former congressional candidate

Results

General election

Predictions

Polling

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.

References

External links

Elections & Ballot Issues
at the Ohio Secretary of State
Candidates for Ohio State Offices
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in s ...

Campaign contributions for 2010 Ohio Governor
from ''Follow the Money''
2010 Ohio Gubernatorial General Election: John Kasich (R) vs Ted Strickland (D)
graph of multiple polls from ''Pollster.com''
Election 2010: Ohio Governor
from ''

Rasmussen Reports Rasmussen Reports is an American polling company founded in 2003. The company engages in political commentary and the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information. Rasmussen Reports conducts nightly tracking, ...

''
2010 Ohio Governor – Kasich vs. Strickland
from ''

Real Clear Politics RealClearPolitics (RCP) is an American political news website and polling data aggregator formed in 2000 by former options trader John McIntyre and former advertising agency account executive Tom Bevan. The site features selected political new ...

''
2010 Ohio Governor's Race
from '' CQ Politics''
Race Profile
in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' ;Debates
Ohio Gubernatorial Debate
'' C-SPAN'', September 14, 2010 ;Official campaign websites (Archived)
John Kasich for GovernorKen Matesz for GovernorDennis Spisak for GovernorTed Strickland for Governor
incumbent {{United States elections, 2010

Gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

2010

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

John Kasich