Danny O’Connor vs. Troy Balderson in 2018’s next big special House election.
A Democrat has a good shot at winning in a special election Tuesday in an Ohio congressional district surrounding Columbus that hasn’t elected a Democrat since the 1980s.
Danny O’Connor is running against Republican Troy Balderson to replace retiring Rep. Patrick Tiberi in Ohio’s wealthiest congressional district. So far, polling had the race in a dead heat, and Donald Trump was campaigning for Balderson the weekend before the special election, in a sign of GOP concerns about the race.
Polls close at 7:30 pm ET. Live results, powered by Decision Desk, are below.
This district, covering parts of suburban Columbus as well as more rural areas in Appalachia, always sends a Republican to Congress. Trump won the district by 9 points in 2016. Cook ranks it as R+7.
But this district is a little better educated than Ohio as a whole, which might favor Democrats, and O’Connor has positioned himself to have a fighting chance. Recent polls have found him trailing by just a point or two, and the Democratic campaign feels good about the early voting numbers they’ve seen.
Given the overall environment, and Democratic performances in prior special elections, election forecasters like Cook have rated the 12th special election as a toss-up.
Author: Dylan Scott
Journalist Fareed Zakaria speaks during the Ellis Island Medals of Honor ceremony at the Ellis…
A crowd carrying a model of Iran’s first-ever hypersonic missile, Fattah, past a mosque during…
Former President Donald Trump appears in Manhattan criminal court on April 19 for jury selection…
Taylor Swift performs during the Eras tour at the National Stadium in Singapore on March…
Plastic covers the exterior of the fuselage plug area of Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 Boeing…
Taylor Swift on her Eras Tour in Singapore. | Ashok Kumar/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights…