Ohio Rep. Allison Russo of Columbus narrowly won the race for Ohio secretary of state, becoming the first Democrat to win a down-ballot office since 2008.
Voters have largely blocked Democrats from Statehouse power for two decades, but Russo bested State Auditor Robert Sprague.
“A lot of it is hard work, but it’s also timing and the moment,” Russo said during a victory speech from Columbus. “There is real frustration in this state with what has been going on for the better part of two decades. People are feeling a lot of pain from the affordability crisis.”
The secretary of state acts as Ohio’s chief elections officer who oversees voting, administers citizens’ ballot referendums and sits on the influential Ohio Redistricting Commission, which draws the state’s political boundaries.
Russo won with 49% of the vote, according to preliminary statewide election results compiled by the Associated Press late Tuesday evening. Sprague got 48%. Tom Pruss, a Libertarian candidate, pulled about 3% of the vote.
Sprague, through a spokesman, declined to comment after his concession speech.
Other statewide races were too close to call as of about 1 a.m. Tuesday night. Several carried margins of 1% to 2%. Too many votes remained outstanding to determine a winner.
For more about Russo’s plans for office, read a recent Signal Statewide interview with Russo here.
