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Ohio's 12th Congressional District special
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: February 7, 2018
Primary: May 8, 2018 General: August 7, 2018 Pre-election incumbent: Vacant
How to vote
Poll times: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Voting in Ohio
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Toss-up Inside Elections: Toss-up Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
See also
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State Sen.Troy Balderson (R) defeated Franklin County RecorderDanny O'Connor (D) by less than one percentage point in the special election forOhio's 12th Congressional District on August 7, 2018.^[1] The race was too close to call for nearly three weeks as more than 8,400 absentee and provisional ballots were counted.^[2] Balderson faced O'Connor again in the regularly scheduledgeneral election on November 6, 2018.

Although a Republican had represented Ohio's 12th Congressional District since 1983, Democrats looked to the timing of thespecial election and increased turnout in the Columbus suburbs to potentially flip the seat.^[3]

O’Connor called for a change in congressional leadership from both House SpeakerPaul Ryan (R-Wis.) and House Minority LeaderNancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and pledged to work with Republicans and PresidentDonald Trump to fix infrastructure.^[4]

Balderson highlighted his support for Trump administration policies, including the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and fighting what he considers to be unfair trade practices.^[5] He also backed an Obamacare replacement that would require health insurance to cover pre-existing conditions.^[4][6]

Both candidates supported a pathway to citizenship forDreamers and review of theNorth American Free Trade Agreement but diverged on gun policy. O’Connor supported ared flag law that would allow guns to be taken away from licensed carriers deemed a threat, which Balderson opposed.^[4]

With a battleground seat in play, both national parties were engaged in the race. TheDemocratic Congressional Campaign Committee added the district to its list of midterm targets, while theNational Republican Congressional Committee spent $1 million on advertising for Balderson.^[7][8][9] PresidentDonald Trump—who won the district by 11 points in 2016—appeared at a rally with Balderson the weekend before the election.

The race was compared toPennsylvania's 18th Congressional District special election, which saw DemocratConor Lamb defeat RepublicanRick Saccone in a district that backed Trump by double digits. O'Connor focused on many of the same policy areas as Lamb, including federal assistance programs. Balderson had been described as a stronger candidate than Saccone.^[10][11]

Green Party candidateJoe Manchik also made a second bid for the seat. He came in third place in2016, winning 4 percent of the vote against Tiberi andEd Albertson (D).^[12]

Balderson, Manchik, and O'Connor ran in both the August special election and November general election.

This page covered the special election in this race:

• Click here to read more about the Democratic Party primary election.
• Click here to read more about the Republican Party primary election.

Click here for information about the regularly scheduled November 6, 2018, general election in Ohio's 12th Congressional District.

As of the2010 redistricting cycle,Ohio's 12th Congressional District was located in the central portion of thestate and included Delaware, Licking, and Morrow counties with the addition of portions of Franklin, Marion, Muskingum, and Richland counties.^[13]

Candidates and election results

General election

Special general election for U.S. House Ohio District 12

Troy Balderson defeatedDanny O'Connor andJoe Manchik in the special general election for U.S. House Ohio District 12 on August 7, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Troy Balderson (R)	50.1	104,328
		Danny O'Connor (D)	49.3	102,648
		Joe Manchik (G)	0.6	1,165

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 208,141
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jonathan Veley (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Special Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 12

The following candidates ran in the special Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 12 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Danny O'Connor	40.9	18,422
		Zach Scott	16.8	7,544
		John Russell	16.7	7,515
		Jackie Patton	13.6	6,111
		Ed Albertson	8.1	3,638
		Doug Wilson	3.9	1,771

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 45,001
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Crystal Lett (D)

Republican primary election

Special Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 12

The following candidates ran in the special Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 12 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Troy Balderson	29.2	20,101
		Melanie Leneghan	28.3	19,437
		Tim Kane	17.1	11,743
	Submit photo	Kevin Bacon	14.3	9,819
		Carol O'Brien	6.4	4,406
		Jon Halverstadt	1.5	998
		Lawrence Cohen	1.2	807
		Mick Shoemaker Jr.	1.1	750
		Pat Manley	1.1	729

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 68,790
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Gary Chiero (R)
• Brandon Grisez (R)

Green primary election

Special Green primary for U.S. House Ohio District 12

Joe Manchik advanced from the special Green primary for U.S. House Ohio District 12 on May 8, 2018.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joe Manchik	100.0	197

---

	There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified.	Total votes: 197
= candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Candidate profiles

Danny O'Connor (D)

O'Connor served in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps as a legal advocate before attending law school and working in the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office. After starting a law practice, he was elected Franklin County recorder in 2016.^[14]

"This special election is a unique chance to flip this seat, and I couldn’t sit out this fight. As a small business owner, the son of a breast cancer survivor, and a reformer who has worked to fix what’s broken with our government, I know what’s at stake in this election," O'Connor said in a statement.^[15]

O'Connor identified expanding healthcare coverage, protecting Medicare and Social Security benefits, and job creation as policy priorities.^[14]

Troy Balderson (R)

Balderson entered the race as a second-term state senator from southeastern Ohio. He previously represented District 94 in theOhio House of Representatives from 2009 to 2011. Prior to serving in elected office, Balderson owned and operated a family farm in Adamsville and worked at an automotive dealership.^[16]

He said in a statement announcing his candidacy, "During my time in the Ohio legislature, I have been a champion for a smaller, more efficient government. I have witnessed firsthand the devastation an out-of-touch Washington, DC can have on Ohio families, particularly those in the energy industry. I intend to fight for our interests, our jobs, and for a government that stays out of the way.”^[17]

His campaign website listed building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, lowering taxes, and supporting gun ownership as policy priorities.^[18]

Joe Manchik (G)

Originally from Hell,Michigan, Manchik graduated from Ohio Institute of Technology in 1975 with a degree in electronics engineering technology. At the time of the election, he was the owner of Manchik Engineering & Co. His platform included advocating the elimination of tax subsidies for oil companies and the provision of those subsidies to "individuals and small businesses that invest in American manufactured solar and wind power technology."

His website stated that he became interested in running for the 12th Congressional District seat when Tiberi voted to fast-track the passage of the Tran-Pacific Partnership agreement, which Manchik opposed.^[19]

Campaign finance

The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to theFederal Election Commission.

Campaign strategies and tactics

Relationship with Donald Trump and Mike Pence

• PresidentDonald Trump appeared at a rally with Balderson in central Ohio on August 4, 2018, where he praised Balderson and described O'Connor as linked to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).^[20] Ohio Gov.John Kasich (R) said that Balderson had not invited the president to the rally.^[21]

• Vice PresidentMike Pence hosted a fundraiser for Balderson on June 15, 2018.

Relationship with Nancy Pelosi

• O'Connor called for a change in leadership on both sides of the aisle throughout the campaign. When asked by MSNBC's Chris Matthews in July 2018 if he would support House Minority LeaderNancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for the speakership if he were casting the deciding vote, O'Connor said, "I would support whoever the Democratic Party put forward." Following the interview, O'Connor released a statement, saying that "no DC-style gotcha politics will change my resolve. I said on TV that we needed new leadership in Congress and I wouldn’t vote for Nancy Pelosi for speaker. I said it seven times, and I’ll say it again—I'm not going to vote for her.” His campaign added that he did not believe the Democratic caucus would put Pelosi forward in such a situation.^[22]

General election ads

Danny O'Connor

Support

Oppose

Troy Balderson

Support

Oppose

Polls

See also:Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

Ohio's 12th Congressional District special election, 2018
Poll	Poll sponsor	O'Connor	Balderson	Manchik	Undecided/Other	Margin of error	Sample size
Emerson Polling August 2-4, 2018	N/A	47%	46%	0%	7%	+/-5.0	431
Monmouth University July 26-31, 2018	N/A	43%	44%	2%	11%	+/-4.3	512
JMC Analytics and Polling June 13-16, 2018	N/A	35%	46%	1%	18%	+/-4.4	500
GPA Strategies June 9-12, 2018	O'Connor	43%	48%	5%	4%	+/-4.0	600
Monmouth University June 7-10, 2018	N/A	39%	48%	0%	13%	+/-5.1	371
Public Policy Polling May 10-11, 2018	End Citizens United	43%	45%	0%	11%	+/-3.9	625
AVERAGES		41.67%	46.17%	1.33%	10.67%	+/-4.45	506.5
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email toeditor@ballotpedia.org.

Satellite spending

• Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF)
  • In July, CLF released an ad highlighting various statements O'Connor made about whether he would support Pelosi for speaker of the House, as part of a $2 million ad buy.^[23]
  • CLF spent $165,000 on an ad buy for Balderson airing from June 8 to June 12. It committed $1 million to ad buys for the August special election.^[24][25]

• TheDemocratic Congressional Campaign Committee released an ad in July stating that Balderson's support for a corporate tax cut could affect Medicare and Social Security. The ad buy was for $238,000.^[26]

• TheNational Republican Congressional Committee spent $500,000 on ad buys in July in the Columbus market, district-wide cable, and Zanesville TV.^[27]

Race ratings

See also:Race rating definitions and methods

Special elections to the 115th U.S. Congress

See also:Special elections to the 115th United States Congress (2017-2018)

In the 17 special elections called to fill vacancies in the115th Congress in 2017 and 2018, nine Republicans and eight Democrats won. Four elections resulted in a partisan flip:

• Doug Jones (D),U.S. Senate in Alabama;
• Conor Lamb (D),Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District;
• Mary Gay Scanlon (D),Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District; and
• Susan Wild (D),Pennsylvania's 15th Congressional District.

Results of special elections to the 115th Congress
Race	Election date	Incumbent	Winner	Election MOV	Previous election MOV	2016 Presidential election MOV[28]
Kansas' 4th Congressional District	April 11, 2017	Mike Pompeo	Ron Estes	R+6	R+31	R+27
Montana's At-Large Congressional District	May 25, 2017	Ryan Zinke	Greg Gianforte	R+6	R+15	R+21
California's 34th Congressional District	June 6, 2017	Xavier Becerra	Jimmy Gomez	D+18[29]	D+54[29]	D+73
Georgia's 6th Congressional District	June 20, 2017	Tom Price	Karen Handel	R+4	R+24	R+1
South Carolina's 5th Congressional District	June 20, 2017	Mick Mulvaney	Ralph Norman	R+3	R+20	R+18
Utah's 3rd Congressional District	November 7, 2017	Jason Chaffetz	John Curtis	R+32	R+47	R+24
U.S. Senate in Alabama	December 12, 2017	Jeff Sessions	Doug Jones	D+2	R+28	R+28
Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District	March 13, 2018	Tim Murphy	Conor Lamb	D+0[30]	R+100	R+19
Arizona's 8th Congressional District	April 24, 2018	Trent Franks	Debbie Lesko	R+6	R+38	R+21
Texas' 27th Congressional District	June 30, 2018	Blake Farenthold	Michael Cloud	R+23	R+24	R+23
Ohio's 12th Congressional District	August 7, 2018	Patrick Tiberi	Troy Balderson	R+1	R+40	R+11
Michigan's 13th Congressional District	November 6, 2018	John Conyers Jr.	Brenda Jones	D+78	D+61	D+61
U.S. Senate in Minnesota	November 6, 2018	Al Franken	Tina Smith	D+11	D+10	D+2
U.S. Senate in Mississippi	November 6, 2018	Thad Cochran	Cindy Hyde-Smith	R+8	R+22	R+18
New York's 25th Congressional District	November 6, 2018	Louise Slaughter	Joseph Morelle	D+16	D+12	D+16
Pennsylvania's 7th Congressional District	November 6, 2018	Patrick Meehan	Mary Gay Scanlon	D+6	R+19	D+2
Pennsylvania's 15th Congressional District	November 6, 2018	Charlie Dent	Susan Wild	D+0	R+20	R+8

District history

2016

See also:Ohio's 12th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpediarated this race as safely Republican. IncumbentPatrick Tiberi (R) defeatedEd Albertson (D) andJoe Manchik (Green) in the general election. All three candidates ran unopposed in their respective primaries.^[31]

U.S. House, Ohio District 12 General Election, 2016

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Patrick TiberiIncumbent	66.6%	251,266
	Democratic	Ed Albertson	29.8%	112,638
	Green	Joe Manchik	3.6%	13,474
	N/A	Write-in	0%	156
Total Votes				377,534
Source:Ohio Secretary of State

2014

See also:Ohio's 12th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 12th Congressional District of Ohio held an election for theU.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. IncumbentPatrick Tiberi (R) defeated challengersDavid Tibbs (D) andBob Hart (G) in the general election.

U.S. House, Ohio District 12 General Election, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Patrick TiberiIncumbent	68.1%	150,573
	Democratic	David Tibbs	27.8%	61,360
	Green	Bob Hart	4.1%	9,148
Total Votes				221,081
Source:Ohio Secretary of State

State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Ohio heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

• Following the2016 elections, Democrats and Republicans each held one U.S. Senate seat in Ohio.
• Republicans held 11 of 16U.S. House seats in Ohio.

State executives

• As of May 2018, Republicans held six out of six electedstate executive positions.
• The governor of Ohio wasRepublicanJohn Kasich.

State legislature

• Republicans controlled both chambers of theOhio General Assembly. They had a 23-9 majority in thestate Senate and a 66-32 majority in thestate House.

Trifecta status

• Ohio was underRepublican trifecta control since thegovernor was aRepublican and both chambers of theOhio General Assembly were underRepublican control.

2018 elections

See also:Ohio elections, 2018

Ohio held elections for the following positions in 2018:

• One U.S. Senate seat
• 16 U.S. House seats
• Governor and lieutenant governor
• Five other state executive offices
• 17 out of 33 state Senate seats
• 99 state House seats
• Two of seven state Supreme Court seats
• Municipal elections in Cuyahoga, Fairfield, Franklin, Hamilton, and Lucas counties, as well as the city of Toledo

Demographics

As of July 2017, Ohio had a population of 11,700,000 people, with its three largest cities being Columbus (pop. est. 860,000), Cleveland (pop. est. 390,000), and Cincinnati (pop. est. 300,000).^[32][33]

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Ohio from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from theOhio Secretary of State.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Ohio every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Ohio 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Donald Trump	52.1%	Hillary Clinton	43.5%	8.6%
2012	Barack Obama	50.7%	Mitt Romney	47.7%	3.0%
2008	Barack Obama	51.5%	John McCain	46.9%	4.6%
2004	George W. Bush	50.8%	John Kerry	48.7%	2.1%
2000	George W. Bush	50.0%	Al Gore	46.5%	3.5%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results ofU.S. Senate races in Ohio from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Ohio 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Rob Portman	58.0%	Ted Strickland	37.2%	20.8%
2012	Sherrod Brown	50.7%	Josh Mandel	44.7%	6.0%
2010	Rob Portman	56.8%	Lee Fisher	39.4%	17.4%
2006	Sherrod Brown	56.2%	Mike DeWine	43.8%	12.4%
2004	George Voinovich	63.9%	Eric Fingerhut	36.1%	27.8%
2000	Mike DeWine	59.9%	Ted Celeste	35.9%	24.0%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Ohio.

Election results (Governor), Ohio 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	John Kasich	63.6%	Ed Fitzgerald	33.0%	30.6%
2010	John Kasich	49.0%	Ted Strickland	47.0%	2.0%
2006	Ted Strickland	60.5%	Ken Blackwell	36.6%	23.9%
2002	Robert Taft	57.8%	Tim Hagan	38.3%	19.5%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Ohio in theU.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Ohio 2000-2016
Year	Republicans	Republicans (%)	Democrats	Democrats (%)	Balance of power
2016	12	75.0%	4	25.0%	R+8
2014	12	75.0%	4	25.0%	R+8
2012	12	75.0%	4	25.0%	R+8
2010	13	72.2%	5	27.8%	R+8
2008	8	44.4%	10	55.6%	D+2
2006	11	61.1%	7	38.9%	R+4
2004	12	66.7%	6	33.3%	R+6
2002	12	66.7%	6	33.3%	R+6
2000	11	57.9%	8	42.1%	R+3

Trifectas, 1992-2017

Astate government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

See also

• Ohio's 12th Congressional District special election (May 8, 2018 Democratic primary)
• Ohio's 12th Congressional District special election (May 8, 2018 Republican primary)
• Special elections to the 115th United States Congress (2017-2018)
• United States House of Representatives
• United States congressional delegations from Ohio
• Ohio's 12th Congressional District election, 2018
• Ohio's 12th Congressional District
• Patrick Tiberi

Footnotes