For the third straight presidential election, Donald Trump has won Ohio and its 17 electoral votes.
The Associated Press called the race at 9:08pm, just over 90 minutes after the polls closed. Trump won Ohio in 2016 and in 2020, by around 8 points each time.
Ohio was considered a bellwether state until 2016, with its vote mirroring how the nation voted. The state arguably lost its status as a swing state with Trump’s victory in Ohio in 2020, as Democrat Joe Biden won the election. Vice President Kamala Harris didn’t hold any major rallies or events in Ohio, and Trump’s last rally in Ohio was in March in support of Bernie Moreno, his endorsed candidate in the Republican primary for US Senate.
Among those casting ballots in Ohio on election day was US Sen. JD Vance, Trump’s running mate, who voted at a Catholic church in Cincinnati.
Vance said he and his wife both voted for the Republican presidential ticket. He took a few questions from reporters outside the church and was asked about the bitter division created in this campaign, including comments made by him and by Trump.
“We are all fundamentally on the same team, however we voted,” Vance said.
He said he expects the GOP ticket to win and to govern as well as they can to heal the rift.
“But if you vote the wrong way, in my view, I’m still going to love you,” Vance added. “I’m still going to treat you as a fellow citizen.”
As for affirming the results of the election, Vance has said that there will be a peaceful transfer of power but that there have been multiple lawsuits by the Republican National Committee to ensure “every legal vote is counted.”
