United States presidential election in Ohio, 2016

Main article: United States presidential election, 2016

United States presidential election in Ohio, 2016

November 8, 2016

Nominee TBA Donald Trump (presumptive) Party Democratic Republican Home state TBA New York Running mate TBA TBA

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President before election Barack Obama Democratic Elected President TBD

The 2016 United States presidential election in Ohio will take place on November 8, 2016, as part of the 2016 general election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participate. Ohio voters will choose electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote.

Presidential primary elections for three parties were also held in Ohio, concurrently with Florida, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina on March 15, 2016. For the Democratic Party, 143 pledged delegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention will be elected and will be awarded proportionally to candidates, according to statewide vote. The ballot will feature three candidates, consisting former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator Bernie Sanders and businessman Rocky De La Fuente. Both Clinton and Sanders are the frontrunning candidates, with Clinton maintaining a lead in the state's recent opinion polling, despite Sanders' victories in the midwestern states before the primaries on March 15. In the Republican Party's presidential primaries, the leader in the state's popular vote will be awarded all of the state's 66 delegates to the 2016 Republican National Convention. The state's governor, John Kasich, stands as the most popular candidate in opinion polling, against leading candidate Donald Trump, who had narrowly won Michigan against Kasich and conceded losses in inland midwestern states to Senator Ted Cruz. The Green Party of Ohio will be holding a privately-funded preference primary, as part of the Green Party of the United States' presidential primaries, although no delegates to the 2016 Green National Convention will be elected through this primary; they will instead be elected by delegates at the Green Party of Ohio's state convention on April 3, 2016.

Background

Further information: United States presidential election § Procedure

File:Barack Obama at Mentor High School.jpg

President Barack Obama signs a memorial wall at Mentor High School in Mentor, Ohio. While described as a swing state, Ohio had reliably voted Democrat in the preceding two presidential elections.

Article Two of the United States Constitution provides that for a person to be elected and serve as President of the United States, the individual must be a natural-born citizen of the United States, at least 35 years old, and a resident of the United States for a period of no less than 14 years. Candidates for the presidency typically seek the nomination of one of the various Political parties of the United States, in which case each party devises a method (such as a primary election) to choose the candidate the party deems best suited to run for the position. The primary elections are usually indirect elections where voters cast ballots for a slate of party delegates pledged to a particular candidate. The party's delegates then officially nominate a candidate to run on the party's behalf. The general election in November is also an indirect election, where voters cast ballots for a slate of members of the Electoral College; these electors in turn directly elect the President and Vice President.

The incumbent, President Barack Obama, a Democrat and former U.S. Senator from Illinois, is ineligible to seek reelection to a third term due to restrictions of the Twenty-second Amendment; in accordance with Section 1 of the Twentieth Amendment, his term expires at noon on January 20, 2017. In the 2008 election, Obama was elected president, defeating the Republican nominee, Senator John McCain of Arizona, receiving 52.9% of the popular vote and 68% of the electoral vote. Obama succeeded two-term Republican President George W. Bush, the former Governor of Texas. Since the end of 2009, polling companies such as Gallup have found Obama's approval ratings to be between 40 and 50 percent. Analysts such as Larry Sabato have noted that Obama's approval ratings could impact the 2016 campaign, helping or hurting the Democratic candidate. If Obama and Vice President Joe Biden serve out the remainder of their respective terms, the voters will elect the 45th President and 48th Vice President of the United States, respectively.

In the 2010 midterm elections, the Democratic Party suffered significant losses in Congress; the Republicans gained 63 seats in the House of Representatives (thus taking control of the chamber), and six seats in the Senate, though short of achieving a majority. As a result of the Republicans' recapture of the House, John Boehner became the 53rd Speaker of the House of Representatives. This made Obama the first President in 16 years to lose the House of Representatives in the first half of his first term, in an election that was characterized by the economy's slow recovery, and the rise of the Tea Party movement. In the 2012 presidential election, incumbent President Barack Obama defeated former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, with 51.1% of the popular vote and 332 (or 61.7%) of 538 electoral votes. Meanwhile, Republicans retained their majority of seats in the House of Representatives despite minor losses, while Democrats increased their majority in the Senate. Speculation about the 2016 campaign began almost immediately following the 2012 campaign, with New York magazine declaring the race had begun in an article published on November 8, 2012, two days after the 2012 election. On the same day, Politico released an article predicting the 2016 general election may be between Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush, while a New York Times article named Chris Christie and Cory Booker as potential candidates. In the 2014 midterm elections, voter turnout was the lowest seen in 70 years, with only 34.4% of eligible voters voting. As a result of the election, the Republicans retained control of the House of Representatives, increasing their majority to its largest level since 1928. Republicans also gained a majority in the Senate.

Primary elections

Green Party

The Green Party of Ohio participated in the March 15 primaries in Ohio, though they did not hold their presidential primary during the event. Instead, delegates to the Green National Convention were awarded based on presidential preference through a nominating convention in Columbus on April 3. Members of the Green Party of Ohio were able to vote in the convention.

Ohio Green Party presidential convention, April 3, 2016
Candidate	Votes	Percentage	National delegates
Jill Stein	-	61%	6
William Kreml	-	19%	2
Sedinam Moyowasifza-Curry	-	12%	1
Darryl Cherney	-	5%	-
Kent Mesplay	-	3%	-
Total	-	100.00%	9

Democratic primary

Ohio Democratic primary, 2016

March 15, 2016

Candidate Hillary Clinton Bernie Sanders Home state New York Vermont

150px County results

Main article: Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016

The Democratic Party's presidential primaries in Ohio were held on March 15, 2016, concurrently with primaries in Florida, Illinois, Missouri and North Carolina. The state's 143 pledged delegates to the 2016 Democratic National Convention were rewarded proportionally according to the statewide vote total. Three candidates appeared on the ballot for the primary – former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator Bernie Sanders and businessman Rocky De La Fuente.

Background

By the time Ohio held its primaries, voters from 21 states and two territories already cast their vote for the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party. As of the March 12 elections, Hillary Clinton was projected to have earned 775 pledged delegates to Bernie Sanders' 552. Clinton gained significant victories in the Southern United States, often described as her "firewall", including landslide victories in Mississippi and Alabama and Georgia. In contrast, Bernie Sanders managed to gain victories in the Midwestern United States, where Ohio resides, including an upset victory in neighboring Michigan on March 8. After the fact, Sanders' campaign took advantage of the momentum gained from the Michigan win, by targeting Illinois, Missouri and Ohio in the March 15 elections, hoping to repeat the same result. Sanders stated that "Not only is Michigan the gateway to the rest of the industrial Midwest, the results there show that we are a national campaign."

Before the Michigan primaries, Clinton and Sanders had debated over economic policies relating to the industrial midwest states and the so-called "rust belt". The disagreements centered around trade deals, including the Trans-Pacific Partnership and Clinton's past support of the North American Free Trade Agreement, and its effect on economies such as Michigan and Ohio.

Controversy

Ohio is defined as one of at least seventeen states that has laws allowing voters who are 17 years of age, but will be 18 by the time of the general election, to vote in the presidential primaries. However, Ohio Secretary of State Jon A. Husted had announced in December 2015 that 17 year olds would be outright barred from participating in the 2016 primaries. The rationale for the decision was based on an interpretation of the law in which 17 year olds could "nominate" officials for office, but not "elect". In the case of the presidential primaries, by definition, voters would be electing officials - delegates to each party's presidential nominating convention. The decision was met with criticism by the public, after it was brought to mainstream attention by Representative Kathleen Clyde, after she condemned the rule in a statement released on March 5. Clyde described it as a "underhanded, backroom attack" against young voters. Nine teenagers filed a lawsuit with the Ohio Courts of Common Pleas in Franklin County over the decision, stating that the decision contradicted state law and a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that allowed 17 year olds turning 18 by the general election to vote.

Bernie Sanders' campaign, whose voter base includes the majority of young voters, also filed a lawsuit against the decision, accusing Husted of "arbitrarily" and "unconsititutionally" discriminating against young African-American and Latino voters, citing data from the 2010 United States Census that shows younger voters in Ohio where mostly African-American and Latino. Husted, in response to Sanders' lawsuit, said in a public statement that he welcomed the lawsuit, further stating that "I am very happy to be sued on this issue because the law is crystal clear", though, he later spoke out negatively against the lawsuit, claiming that it was a "a last-minute political act", designed to "draw attention to his campaign." Many Ohio officials, past and present, such as former Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, came out in support of Sanders' lawsuit, and had attracted protests by not only Bernie Sanders supporters, but also Donald Trump supporters as well. In a decision handed down on March 11, an Ohio state judge ruled in favour of both lawsuits by the teenage group and the Sanders campaign, effectively lifting the ban on 17 year olds from voting in the Ohio presidential primaries. Husted initially announced that he would appeal the ruling, however, after learning that such an appeal wouldn't be heard by the court until the day before the primaries, he retracted his intent to appeal.

Debates and Forums

March 13, 2016 – Columbus, Ohio

The ninth forum was held at 8:00 pm EDT on March 13, 2016, at the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, and aired on CNN.

March 14, 2016 – Columbus, Ohio and Springfield, Illinois

The tenth forum was held at 6:00 pm EDT on March 14, 2016, at the campus of Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, and at the Old State Capitol State Historic Site (Illinois) in Springfield, Illinois. It aired on MSNBC. The first section of the town hall with Bernie Sanders was moderated by Chuck Todd; the second section of the town hall with Hillary Clinton was moderated by Chris Matthews.

Results

Ohio Democratic primary, March 15, 2016
Candidate	Popular vote		Estimated delegates
	Count	Percentage	Pledged	Unpledged	Total
Hillary Clinton	696,681	56.12%	81	14	95
Bernie Sanders	535,395	43.13%	62	1	63
Rocky De La Fuente	9,402	0.76%
Uncommitted	N/A			2	2
Total	1,241,478	100%	143	17	160
Source: The Green Papers

Republican primary

Ohio Republican primary, 2016

March 15, 2016

x145px x145px Candidate John Kasich Donald Trump Ted Cruz Home state Ohio New York Texas Delegate count 66 0 0 Popular vote 993,886 713,404 264,640 Percentage 46.95% 35.87% 13.31%

150px County results

Results

Ohio Republican primary, March 15, 2016
Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Actual delegate count
			Bound	Unbound	Total
John Kasich	933,886	46.95%	66	0	66
Donald Trump	713,404	35.87%	0	0	0
Ted Cruz	264,640	13.31%	0	0	0
Marco Rubio	46,478	2.34%	0	0	0
Ben Carson (withdrawn)	14,351	0.72%	0	0	0
Jeb Bush (withdrawn)	5,398	0.27%	0	0	0
Mike Huckabee (withdrawn)	4,941	0.25%	0	0	0
Chris Christie (withdrawn)	2,430	0.12%	0	0	0
Carly Fiorina (withdrawn)	2,112	0.11%	0	0	0
Rick Santorum (withdrawn)	1,320	0.07%	0	0	0
Unprojected delegates:			0	0	0
Total:	1,988,960	100.00%	66	0	66
Source: The Green Papers

See also

• Democratic Party presidential debates, 2016
• Democratic Party presidential primaries, 2016
• Republican Party presidential debates, 2016
• Republican Party presidential primaries, 2016

External links

• RNC 2016 Republican Nominating Process
• Green papers for 2016 primaries, caucuses, and conventions
• 2016 Presidential primaries, ElectionProjection.com
• Decision Desk Headquarter Results for Ohio
• Primary Election Results, Ohio Secretary of State