2022 Ohio gubernatorial election


The 2022 Ohio gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Ohio. Incumbent Republican Party|Republican] Governor Mike DeWine won a second term in a landslide, defeating Democratic Party|Democratic] nominee Nan Whaley, the former mayor of Dayton, with 62.4% of the vote. DeWine's 25-point victory marked the continuation of a trend in which every incumbent Republican governor of Ohio since 1994 has won re-election by a double-digit margin.
This was the first time since 1994 in which Trumbull and Mahoning counties have gone to the Republican candidate with over 60% of the vote. Hamilton County also voted Republican in a statewide election for the first time since 2016 [United States Senate election in Ohio|Ohio's 2016 United States Senate election], which incumbent Republican Rob Portman also won by over 20 points and nearly 60% of the vote.

Republican primary

Incumbent governor Mike DeWine faced backlash from Republicans due to having implemented strict COVID-19 restrictions, such as a statewide stay at home order and mask mandates. Due to this, on April 30, 2021, farmer Joe Blystone became the first candidate to announce a primary challenge to DeWine. On June 9, former U.S. representative Jim Renacci also announced a run, later being followed up by former state representative Ron Hood. As a result, DeWine became the first incumbent Ohio governor to face a primary challenger since Jim Rhodes in 1978 and the first to have multiple challengers since Michael Disalle in 1962. Initial polling showed Renacci in the lead; however, his lead soon evaporated, as DeWine attempted to appeal to conservatives angry with his COVID-19 response by attacking President Joe Biden's policies and signing constitutional carry into law, allowing permitless carry of firearms. Incumbent governors rarely ever lose their primaries. Ultimately, DeWine prevailed in the primary election on May 3; however, he only won with a plurality of the vote, which suggests that he could have lost had his opponents not split the vote.

Candidates

Nominated

Eliminated in primary

Declined

Polling

Graphical summary

Source of poll
aggregation		Dates
administered		Dates
updated		Joe
Blystone		Mike
DeWine		Jim
Renacci		Other
Margin
Real Clear PoliticsFebruary 25 – May 1, 2022May 2, 202216.5%48.0%31.0%4.5%DeWine +17.0

Democratic primary

Candidates

Nominated

Eliminated in primary

Withdrawn

Declined

Independents

Disqualified

  • F. Patrick Cunnane
  • * Running mate: Mary Cunnane
  • Niel Petersen, pastor
  • * Running mate: Michael V Stewart

Write-in candidates

Declared

  • Timothy Grady, college student
  • * Running mate: Dayna Bickley
  • Craig Patton
  • * Running mate: Collin Cook
  • Renea Turner
  • * Running mate: Adina Pelletier
  • Marshall Usher
  • * Running mate: Shannon Walker

General election

Polling

Aggregate polls

Graphical summary

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Mike
DeWine 		Nan
Whaley 		OtherUndecided
CiviqsNovember 4–7, 2022716 ± 4.1%53%39%6%2%
Research Co.November 4–6, 2022450 ± 4.6%57%37%–6%
Targoz Market ResearchNovember 2–6, 2022505 ± 4.3%62%32%5%–
The Trafalgar Group November 3–5, 20221,123 ± 2.9%59%34%–8%
Data for Progress November 2–5, 20221,413 ± 3.0%62%38%––
Cygnal November 1–3, 20221,498 ± 2.5%56%37%–7%
Remington Research Group November 1–2, 20221,125 ± 2.8%58%35%–7%
Emerson CollegeOctober 30 – November 1, 20221,000 ± 3.0%55%34%5%7%
Cygnal October 29 – November 1, 20221,520 ± 2.5%56%36%–8%
Cygnal October 26–30, 20221,510 ± 2.5%56%36%–9%
Cygnal October 24–28, 20221,776 ± 2.3%56%35%–9%
Cygnal October 22–26, 20221,817 ± 2.3%56%35%–9%
Cygnal October 20–24, 20221,886 ± 2.3%55%37%–8%
Baldwin Wallace UniversityOctober 20–23, 20221,068 ± 3.5%57%40%–3%
Cygnal October 18–22, 20221,547 ± 2.5%55%37%–8%
Marist CollegeOctober 17–20, 20221,141 ± 3.9%53%40%1%6%
Marist College942 ± 4.3%54%41%1%3%-
Cygnal October 16–20, 20221,540 ± 2.5%55%37%–8%
Siena CollegeOctober 14–19, 2022644 ± 5.1%58%34%3%6%
Cygnal October 14–18, 20221,438 ± 2.6%56%35%–9%
Ohio Northern University/LucidOctober 11–15, 2022668 ± 3.8%60%29%1%10%
Suffolk UniversityOctober 11–15, 2022500 ± 4.4%56%38%1%5%
The Trafalgar Group October 10–12, 20221,081 ± 2.9%55%37%–8%
Data for Progress October 7–12, 20221,016 ± 3.0%57%38%–5%
Cygnal October 6–8, 2022640 –57%35%–8%
Emerson CollegeOctober 6–7, 20221,000 ± 3.0%50%36%6%8%
Siena CollegeSeptember 18–22, 2022642 ± 4.4%55%32%3%10%
Baldwin Wallace UniversitySeptember 12–15, 2022855 ± 4.1%57%39%–4%
Marist CollegeSeptember 12–15, 20221,200 ± 3.6%55%37%–8%
Marist CollegeSeptember 12–15, 20221,009 ± 3.9%55%39%–6%
Emerson CollegeSeptember 10–13, 20221000 ± 3%50%33%5%12%
CiviqsSeptember 10–13, 2022780 ± 4%44%41%10%5%
Fallon ResearchSeptember 6–11, 2022500 ± 4.3%49%37%–14%
Suffolk UniversitySeptember 5–7, 2022500 ± 4.4%54%39%–7%
Echelon InsightsAugust 31 – September 7, 2022831 ± 4.3%54%35%–11%
Survey Monkey August 31 – September 2, 2022987 ± 3.0%52%31%–17%
Survey Monkey August 31 – September 2, 2022519 ± 3.0%53%37%–10%
The Trafalgar Group August 16–19, 20221,087 ± 2.9%54%38%–8%
Emerson CollegeAugust 15–16, 2022925 ± 3.2%49%33%8%11%
Lake Research Partners August 4–9, 2022600 ± 4.0%44%43%8%5%
Lake Research Partners August 3–9, 2022600 ± 4.0%44%43%7%6%
Suffolk UniversityMay 22–24, 2022500 ± 4.4%45%30%11%13%
Redfield & Wilton StrategiesAugust 20–24, 20211,200 ± 2.8%44%25%10%16%
Redfield & Wilton StrategiesAugust 20–24, 20211,160 ± 2.9%46%27%11%16%

Mike DeWine vs. John Cranley

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Mike
DeWine 		John
Cranley 		OtherUndecided
Redfield & Wilton StrategiesAugust 20–24, 20211,200 ± 2.8%44%24%10%16%
Redfield & Wilton StrategiesAugust 20–24, 20211,160 ± 2.9%47%25%11%15%

Results

According to a survey conducted by NORC for Fox News and the Associated Press, most white people, Latinos, and other minorities voted for DeWine, while most African Americans voted for Whaley.

By county

Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

DeWine won 13 of 15 congressional districts, including three that elected Democrats.
DistrictDeWineWhaleyRepresentative
55%45%Steve Chabot
55%45%Greg Landsman
77%23%Brad Wenstrup
37%63%Joyce Beatty
74%26%Jim Jordan
71%29%Bob Latta
72%28%Bill Johnson
63%37%Bob Gibbs
63%37%Max Miller
69%31%Warren Davidson
63%37%Marcy Kaptur
62%38%Mike Turner
30%70%Shontel Brown
72%28%Troy Balderson
57%43%Tim Ryan
57%43%Emilia Sykes
66%34%David Joyce
62%38%Mike Carey

Analysis

Voter demographics

Voter demographic data was collected by CNN. The voter survey is based on exit polls. There were 3,772 total respondents.