The 2018 Ohio gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the next

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

, concurrently with the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

's Class I U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in other states,

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, and various

and

local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

. Incumbent Republican governor

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician and author who was the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001, and a Republican candidate for the pre ...

was term-limited and could not seek re-election for a third consecutive term. Republicans nominated

Ohio Attorney General The Ohio attorney general is the chief legal officer of the state of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio attorney general is Republican Dave Yost. History The office of the att ...

and former U.S. senator

Mike DeWine Richard Michael DeWine ( ; born January 5, 1947) is an American politician and attorney serving as the 70th List of governors of Ohio, governor of Ohio since 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served a ...

, while Democrats nominated former

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for consumer protection in the financial sector. CFPB's jurisdiction includes banks, credit unions, securities firms, Payday lo ...

Director and former Ohio attorney general

Richard Cordray Richard Adams Cordray (born May 3, 1959) is an American lawyer and politician who served from 2021 to 2024 as COO of Federal Student Aid in the United States Department of Education. From 2012 to 2017, he served as the first director of the Consum ...

. This was the second contest between DeWine and Cordray, following the 2010 attorney general election, which DeWine won, 47.5% to 46.3%. In 2018, DeWine defeated Cordray 50.4% to 46.7%, in what was considered a minor upset. Despite Cordray's loss, he became the first Democratic gubernatorial candidate to win

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

's Hamilton County since

Dick Celeste Richard Frank Celeste (born November 11, 1937) is an American former diplomat, university administrator and politician from Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 64th governor of Ohio from 1983 to 1991 and remains the last Dem ...

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

. Likewise, DeWine became the first Republican to win in the historically Democratic Monroe County in a gubernatorial election since

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

as the county took a sharp turn to the right. With Democratic senator

Sherrod Brown Sherrod Campbell Brown ( ; born November 9, 1952) is an American politician who served from 2007 to 2025 as a United States senator from Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representative for from 1993 to 2007 and the 47t ...

winning re-election in the same year, this was the first election since

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

in which Ohio simultaneously voted for a gubernatorial nominee and a U.S. Senate nominee of opposite parties. DeWine and Husted took office on January 14, 2019.

Republican primary

Candidates

Nominated

Ohio attorney general The Ohio attorney general is the chief legal officer of the state of Ohio in the United States. The office is filled by general election, held every four years. The Ohio attorney general is Republican Dave Yost. History The office of the att ...

, former

U.S. senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

, former

lieutenant governor of Ohio The position of lieutenant governor of Ohio was established in 1852. The lieutenant governor becomes Governor of Ohio, governor if the governor resigns, dies in office or is removed via impeachment conviction. Before 1852, the president of the Oh ...

, and former

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

** Running mate:

Jon Husted Jon Allen Husted ( ; born August 25, 1967) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Ohio since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, Husted served as the 66th lieutenant governor of Ohio from 2019 to 2025 an ...

Ohio Secretary of State The secretary of state of Ohio is an elected statewide official in the state of Ohio. The Secretary of state (U.S. state government), secretary of state is responsible for overseeing elections in the state; registering business entities (corp ...

and former speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives

Eliminated in primary

* Mary Taylor,

** Running mate: Nathan Estruth, businessman

Withdrew

Jon A. Husted Jon Allen Husted ( ; born August 25, 1967) is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Ohio since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, Husted served as the 66th lieutenant governor of Ohio from 2019 to 2025 and ...

(running for lieutenant governor) *

Jim Renacci James B. Renacci ( ; born December 3, 1958) is an American accountant, businessman, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he is a former city council president and two-ter ...

, U.S. representative ( running for the U.S. Senate) ** Running mate: Amy Murray, Cincinnati councilwoman

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominated

, former director of the

, former

Ohio state treasurer The treasurer of the U.S. state of Ohio is responsible for collecting and safeguarding taxes and fees, as well as managing state investments. The Treasury was located in the Ohio Statehouse from 1861 to 1974, when it was moved to the Rhodes Stat ...

, nominee for OH-15 in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

, nominee for

attorney general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

and

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, and candidate for U.S. Senate in

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

** Running mate:

Betty Sutton Betty Sue Sutton (born July 31, 1963) is an American politician who currently serves as a Judge of Ohio's 9th District Court of Appeals. She previously served as a U.S. Representative for from 2007 to 2013. She is a member of the Democratic Par ...

, former

Eliminated in primary

* Larry Ealy, former male stripper and candidate for governor in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

**Running mate: Jeffrey Lynn *

Dennis Kucinich Dennis John Kucinich ( ; October 8, 1946) is an American politician. Originally a Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Kucinich served as U.S. Representative from Ohio's Ohio's 10th congressional district, 10th congressional district fro ...

, former U.S. representative, former mayor of

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, candidate for secretary of state in

, and candidate for

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

and

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

** Running mate: Tara Samples,

Akron Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 census. The Akron metropolitan area, covering Summit and Portage counties, had ...

city councilwoman * Bill O'Neill, Justice of the

Ohio Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a chief justice and six associate justices, ...

and nominee for OH-14 in

and

** Running mate: Chantelle Lewis, elementary school principal and former East Cleveland City councilwoman * Paul Ray ** Running mate: Jerry Schroeder *

Joe Schiavoni Joseph L. Schiavoni (born September 21, 1979) is an American politician and judge who served as a member of the Ohio Senate and Ohio Senate Minority Leader. A member of the Democratic Party, Schiavoni was elected in 2020 to serve as a Judge in ...

, state senator and former Minority Leader of the

Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of t ...

** Running mate: Stephanie Dodd, State Board of Education member

Failed to qualify for ballot

* Jon Heavey, physician * Dave Kiefer, former Wayne County Commissioner and Republican candidate for state representative in 2016

Withdrew

Connie Pillich Connie Pillich (born September 7, 1960) is an American attorney and former Democratic member of the Ohio House of Representatives, representing the 28th District between 2009 and 2014. She was the Democratic candidate for Ohio State Treasurer ...

, former state representative and nominee for

(endorsed Richard Cordray) ** Running mate: Scott Schertzer, mayor of

Marion, OH Marion is a city in Marion County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in north-central Ohio, approximately north of Columbus. The population was 35,999 at the 2020 census, down slightly from 36,837 at the 2010 census. It ...

, former U.S. representative (running for lieutenant governor) * Nan Whaley, mayor of

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

(endorsed Richard Cordray)

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Libertarian primary

Candidates

Nominated

* Travis Irvine, filmmaker and writer ** Running mate: Todd Grayson

Withdrew

* Bruce Jaynes, entrepreneur * Stephen Quinn, student

Green primary

Candidates

Nominated

* Constance Gadell-Newton, attorney, co-chair of the Ohio Green Party and nominee for the

State House State House or statehouse may refer to: Buildings *Aso Villa or State House, the official residence of the President of Nigeria *Government House, Dominica or The State House, the official residence of the President of Dominica * State House, Bar ...

in 2016 ** Running mate: Brett R. Joseph

General election

Candidates

( Democratic), former director of the

, former

and former

** Running mate:

, former

( Republican),

and former U.S. senator ** Running mate:

Secretary of State of Ohio The secretary of state of Ohio is an elected statewide official in the state of Ohio. The secretary of state is responsible for overseeing elections in the state; registering business entities (corporations, etc.) and granting them the autho ...

and former Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives * Constance Gadell-Newton (

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a com ...

), attorney, co-chair of the Ohio Green Party and nominee for the

in 2016 ** Running mate: Brett R. Joseph, attorney, educator and small businessman * Travis Irvine (

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

) ** Running mate: Todd Grayson, former Perrysburg city councilman

Endorsements

Debates

Predictions

Polling

with DeWine and Kucinich
with DeWine and Pillich
with Jon Husted
with generic Republican and Democrat

Results

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

(largest city: Woodsfield)

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

* Cuyahoga (largest city:

) *

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

(largest city:

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

) *

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

(largest city:

) *

Lorain Lorain may refer to: Places * Lorain, Ohio * Lorain, Pennsylvania * Lorain, Wisconsin * Lorain County, Ohio ** Lorain County Community College * Lorain Township, Minnesota People * René Lorain (born 1900), French athlete * Sophie Lorain, Canadi ...

(largest city:

) *

Lucas Lucas or LUCAS may refer to: People * Lucas (surname) * Lucas (given name) Arts and entertainment * Luca Family Singers, or the Lucas, a 19th-century African-American singing group * Lucas, a 1960s Swedish pop group formed by Janne Lucas Perss ...

(largest city:

Toledo Toledo most commonly refers to: * Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain * Province of Toledo, Spain * Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States Toledo may also refer to: Places Belize * Toledo District * Toledo Settlement Bolivia * Toledo, Or ...

) * Mahoning (largest city:

Youngstown Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...

) *

Summit A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous. The term (mountain top) is generally used only for ...

(largest city:

) * Trumbull (largest city:

Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...

)

By congressional district

DeWine won 12 of 16 congressional districts.https://davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::00eb40c5-ef15-4634-af87-72fd2b9d062d

Notes

References

External links

Candidates
at

Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is an American 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 offic ...

Candidates
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

Official campaign websites
Richard Cordray (D) for Governor

Mike DeWine (R) for Governor

Constance A. Gadell-Newton (G) for Governor

Travis Irvine (L) for Governor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohio gubernatorial election, 2018

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

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2018 United States gubernatorial elections November 2018 in the United States