The 2018 election is finally over. What a busy year. NFIB is so grateful for all of the member activism that helped propel a large majority of our endorsed candidates across the finish line. Both in time and dollars, NFIB members came through in a big way to help Ohio continue its economic recovery! An extra special thank you to the great work of the NFIB Ohio PAC Board this year!
Below are the highlights of the election both in results, and what NFIB did to support those endorsed candidates:
The upside…
- NFIB’s endorsed statewide candidates Mike DeWine for Ohio Governor & Dave Yost for Ohio Attorney General both won their respective races.
- All 12 members of Congress endorsed by NFIB on the federal level won their seats maintaining the 12-4 Republican to Democrat split.
- Issue 1 went down big losing 63.4% to 36.6% – NFIB went in big on the NO side.
- All 11 of the NFIB endorsed candidates for the Ohio Senate were victorious, meaning the Republicans actually picked up a seat moving the margin to 25-8 Republican to Democrat.
- Of the 63 Ohio House races where NFIB endorsed a candidate, 57 of those were victorious, with most losses coming in suburban Columbus, overall the Ohio House Republican’s lost a net 4 seats making the margin now 62-37 Republicans to Democrats (several recounts still pending).
- 19 NFIB members prevailed in their bids for the Ohio House & Senate, including a few first timers.
- In Ohio races NFIB was 70 out of 78 for a winning percentage of 89.7%, Federally 12 out of 13 for 92.3%.
The downside…
- Congressman Jim Renacci, NFIB’s endorsed candidate for US Senate lost to Sherrod Brown who won his third term.
- Both candidates endorsed by NFIB for the Ohio Supreme Court went down to defeat, so the makeup of the court is now 5-2 Republican to Democrat.
- 2 NFIB member first-time candidates were unsuccessful in their attempts for seats in the Ohio House.
Of note…
- Secretary of State, Auditor, and Treasurer all stayed Republican in Ohio as well. All 5 statewide races went to Republicans, including NFIB member Keith Faber is now the Ohio Auditor.
First-time candidate Reggie Stoltzfus, an active NFIB member in our Stark County Area Action Council, was successful in his run to represent Ohio House District 50 on election night.
Leading up to the election NFIB was involved in the following…
- 101 Candidates Interviewed and Considered
- 91 Endorsed candidates endorsed at the state & federal level (23 NFIB members)
- 82 Victories at the state & federal level (90% win rate)
- 41,594 individual candidate postcards sent to members
- 99,736 statewide communications to members
- Election Guide
- Supreme Court Postcard
- Issue 1 Postcard
- Election Edition of the Ohio MyVoice w/ Supreme Court Insert
- Three candidate digital ads with over 1.2 million impressions
- Held six dates for candidate endorsement screenings
- 49 members attended
- 36 candidates attended
- 1,349 30-second radio spots across 20 counties in Ohio
- Held 13 meetings around the state with 156 members
- Held 26 candidate meetings
Thank you again to our 22,000 plus members for all the support you offer to NFIB year round!
