Ohio Governor's Race

CQ Politics Race Rating: Likely Democratic

Incumbent — Ted Strickland (D); Running for reelection

Strickland, formerly a veteran U.S. House member from southeast Ohio, was elected as part of a Democratic Party upsurge that broke a long-running state GOP trend in 2006 and expanded in 2008. Along with Strickland’s lopsided win to succeed term-limited Republican Bob Taft, the Democrats picked up a Republican U.S. Senate seat and three House seats over the past two cycles, and boosted Barack Obama to a key swing state victory in the 2008 presidential election.

Yet Strickland, as he prepares for his 2010 re-election bid, nonetheless faces potential political risks in Ohio’s economic struggles, which pre-date the current national recession and have deepened because of it.

His likely Republican opponent is John Kasich, a former U.S. House member who held a Columbus-area seat from 1983 through 2000. Kasich, who announced his candidacy in early June, had been opposed for the Republican nomination by state Sen. Kevin Coughlin. But Coughlin withdrew from the race in July.

Should Strickland win again in 2010, he would become the first Ohio Democrat re-elected as governor since Richard F. Celeste in 1986.

Race Information

• Incumbent: Ted Strickland, D
• First Elected: 2006 (1st term)
• Incumbent Status: Running for reelection
• CQ Politics Race Rating: Likely Democratic

State Information

• U.S. Senate Delegation: 1 Democrat, 1 Republican
• U.S. House Delegation: 10 Democrats, 8 Republicans

Senators

George V. Voinovich, R

First Elected: 1998 (2nd term)

Last Elected: 2004 (63.85%)

Sherrod Brown, D

First Elected: 2006 (1st term)

Last Elected: 2006 (56.16%)

State Offices

State House Control: Republican

State Senate Control: Republican