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 County results Township resultsCeleste: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% Rhodes: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% | ||||||||||||||||||||
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The1986 Ohio gubernatorial election was held on November 4, 1986. IncumbentDemocraticGovernorDick Celeste ran against four time former GovernorJim Rhodes, who had previously defeated the last two incumbent Democratic governors in1962 and1974. The two had faced off before in1978, with Rhodes winning by 47,536 votes for his fourth victory. Eight years later, at the age of 77, Rhodes was attempting to win a record fifth term. However, Celeste won by an even bigger margin than he did four years earlier, becoming the first Democrat to win consecutive elections for Governor sinceFrank Lausche, who won four consecutive times in 1948, 1950, 1952, and 1954. As of 2022, this is the last time a Democrat was re-elected Governor of Ohio and the only time a Democrat won a second four-year term. This was the penultimate time a Democrat was elected Governor of Ohio, with the last time being in2006.
Dick Celeste, Governor of Ohio
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Dick Celeste (Incumbent) | 684,206 | 99.87 | |
| Democratic | Write-ins | 880 | 0.13 | |
| Total votes | 685,086 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jim Rhodes | 352,261 | 48.19 | |
| Republican | Paul E. Gillmor | 281,737 | 38.54 | |
| Republican | Paul E. Pfeifer | 96,948 | 13.26 | |
| Total votes | 730,946 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Dick Celeste (Incumbent) | 1,858,372 | 60.6 | +1.2 | |
| Republican | Jim Rhodes | 1,207,264 | 39.4 | +0.5 | |
| Write-ins | 975 | ||||
| Majority | 651,108 | 21.2 | |||
| Turnout | 3,065,636 | ||||
| Democratichold | Swing | ||||
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