On Nov. 5, citizens of Ohio made their voice heard in the 2024 general election. Over 5 million people voted in a state of 11.8 million, starting at the presidential level and working their way down the ticket. 

In many of the election races and on many of the issues, Ohio counties voted Republican in line with recent trends in the once key battleground state. However, while the state’s rural counties chose red again, Democrats held the major cities and their home counties.

Some races were close, but the state shifted further right, flipping a key Senate seat and voting to keep gerrymandering, the key to Republican success in a state fairly evenly divided in its ideological inclinations. Following is a guide to the results of the elections in Ohio and what they could mean for the U.S. government and the state.

Bernie Moreno, Vance vacancy

Republican candidate Bernie Moreno was elected to the U.S. Senate, beating the Democrats' Sherrod Brown who has occupied the seat since 2007.

Moreno, a car dealer and blockchain entrepreneur, ran on policies that included support for a ban on late-term abortions, empowering law enforcement, Israel’s right to defend itself, ending “wokeness” and “cancel culture,” and bolstering U.S. energy independence. President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance endorsed Moreno during their campaign in support of his policies.

Due to these endorsements, Moreno is expected to vote in favor of legislation proposed by Trump, his allies and the GOP. This worries people concerned at women’s rights to control their bodies, global heating and a just resolution of the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

A key beneficiary of Moreno's win is expected to be the cryptocurrency industry, which poured upwards of $40 million into his campaign to oust Brown, who is the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and a crypto skeptic.

Moreno also supports abolishing the Department of Education, something Trump declared he will do under his second term, which currently funds schools K-12 and provides grants and loans to college students through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Ohio's second Senate seat is opening up with Vice President-elect JD Vance set to vacate that seat. Ohio's Republican Governor Mike DeWine is expected to pick someone from the GOP to fill Vance’s seat, making both Ohio Senate seats Republican.

Issue 1: Gerrymandering

Gerrymandering is a way for politicians to draw district voting boundaries in ways that benefit one party over another. The practice in Ohio has a long history according to Mike Curtin, a journalist and former state legislator.

“Throughout Ohio history, the majority party in the state legislature has rigged elections by gerrymandering districts,” Curtin wrote for The Columbus Dispatch. At one point that party was the Democrats. Now it's the Republicans. 

With gerrymandering, Ohio today looks overwhelmingly Republican, when statewide votes such as for the U.S. presidency and Senate show Ohio is fairly evenly split in terms of numbers of supporters of the two major parties.

At stake on Nov. 5 was "Issue 1," an attempt to end gerrymandering in Ohio by forcing the government to create districting maps that match the number of seats for the Republicans and Democrats based on how Ohioans have voted over the previous six years.

"Issue 1" lost by 54% to 46%. 

In Ohio, 2025 is the next year for redrawing political boundaries. With Ohio having a Republican majority, and "Issue 1" failing to pass Nov. 5, the lopsided mismatch between the illusion and reality of political preference in Ohio is only like to get worse. As the Brennan Center for Justice observed, "Rather than voters choosing their representatives, gerrymandering empowers politicians to choose their voters."

Representative to Congress and State House Representative

Winning the 7th District, Republican Max Miller will serve as a representative to Congress in the U.S. House of Representatives. Miller served in the Marine Corps for six years, as well as being a senior adviser to Trump.

Miller has said that in Congress he will work towards securing the southern border, expanding workforce development opportunities and empowering Ohio and U.S. farmers and rural communities. Miller endorsed Trump in his campaign for re-election, saying “He has my full support, and I will do everything I can to deliver Ohio for President Trump once again."

Bride Rose Sweeney, the first woman to represent her district and the youngest Democrat elected to the 133rd Ohio General Assembly, was re-elected in the 16th District to the Ohio House of Representatives. In her time as a representative, Sweeney has helped to pass nine bills in a Republican majority legislature that include support of prompt pay of workers, protection for nurses working excessive overtime and reform for students to transfer college credits between schools.

Issue 55: Funding for the arts

Issue 55 is a tax on cigarettes that passed in the Ohio election, funding Cuyahoga Arts and Culture (CAC) in the county. The levy expands taxes on cigarettes from 1.5 cents per cigarette to 3.5 cents per cigarette. Due to the decline in cigarette sales over the years, CAC has asked for a higher tax to continue funding programs. 

The amount generated from Issue 55 would generate $160 million over the next 10 years, according to its website. Through the levy passed in 2006, CAC has been able to fund many programs to help support the arts through public funding. Due to the passing of Issue 55, nonprofits will be given the necessary funding to support the arts.

Critics say that CAC officials and other leaders should work harder to find other revenue streams, so that Cuyahoga County's smokers are not the go-to source of money for activities which have nothing in common with smoking.