Democrat voters dominate early voting numbers, with almost 10 million ballots cast
The first batch of early voting numbers for Tuesday’s Nov. 6 election have come in, and Democrats dominate in terms of both participation and votes cast.
A record-breaking 6,037,764 people voted either in-person or by absentee ballot, which is 1,000 more than in 2012. Additionally, nearly 4 million Ohioans who had not previously voted in 2010 made their voices heard, with 3,900,000 new voters casting ballots on Nov. 6.
Democrats dominated the early voting numbers, with 1,821,891 votes cast on Tuesday. Republicans were second with 1,854,898 votes cast.
Republicans won at least three districts in the Buckeye State for the first time in two decades, with Democratic candidates taking in the three congressional districts and all 11 in the state House of Representatives.
“It is really a milestone for Ohio,” said Matt Stewart, a campaign adviser to U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich and the former governor of Ohio. “It certainly shows the strength of the Democratic turnout in this election, and we’re really excited about where we are going to take this state.”
Early voting numbers are not the most important factor in the outcome of the election, but they are helpful in gauging how close the race truly is and in determining the likelihood that the Democrats will take back the House of Representatives.
The state’s early voting numbers have generally been in the double digits, but it has been up to more than a million voters to surpass the previous record set in 2010, when nearly two million people voted by absentee ballot.
Republican gubernatorial candidate and former state Sen. Bill Nelson took the lead in early voting, with 709,630 votes cast. He was followed by incumbent Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland at 565,981.
Democratic candidate Rep. Betty Sutton, who represents Cleveland’s northern suburbs, and Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who has represented the district since 1981, were the only candidates who took in fewer ballots.
Sutton took in 675,742 early votes, far short of the 1.2 million votes she needs to overcome Hastert and avoid a runoff election
