Takeaways from Tuesday's election results

Lorain County Commissioner Jeff Riddell is making a habit of tight elections. Four years ago, the Republican beat then-Commissioner Matt Lundy, a Democrat, by 136 votes in the general election. The results of Tuesday's GOP primary were even closer, with Riddell 17 votes ahead of his challenger, Firelands school board member Will Schlechter, according to unofficial returns from the county Board of Elections. It's close enough that the 98 provisional ballots cast on the Republican side could still swing the race if those ballots end up being counted. (There's also a smattering of overseas and military ballots that could still arrive and add to the uncounted vote total.) The central issues in the race were a proposed "mega site" at and around the Lorain County Regional Airport and a proposed sewer project on the county's west side. Riddell has been supportive of those projects, while Schlechter made opposition to them central to his campaign. His message appears to have resonated even as the results highlighted the county's rural-urban divide. Although Riddell did win in a few of the county's villages and townships, Schlechter carried those areas with 4,322 votes compared to Riddell's 2,571. The result was particularly stark in New Russia Township, where the airport is located. Schlechter received 198 votes compared to Riddell's 38. Schlechter also won big in Henrietta Township, where both he and Riddell live. Schlechter received 308 votes compared to Riddell's 28 votes. Riddell, however, was the big winner in the county's cities, carrying all of them except Amherst, Oberlin and Vermilion. If Riddell manages to hang on into November's general election, we suspect that opposition to the mega site and sewers will continue to work against him in the townships. It's an issue that we expect the Democratic candidate, former Sheffield Village Councilwoman Carolyn White, to capitalize on during her fall campaign. White beat former union official Brian Baker by 388 votes, and even if all the 165 provisional ballots cast on the Democratic side go to Baker, it wouldn't be enough for him to overcome her lead. White put together a broad coalition, winning the vote in Avon, Avon Lake, Lorain, North Ridgeville, Sheffield Lake and Vermillion. Baker won in Amherst, Elyria, Oberlin and the townships and villages, including beating White by a handful of votes on her home turf in Sheffield. The big wild card in the commissioner's race will be what happens with an ongoing criminal investigation that revolves, at least in part, around the county's 911 call center. Investigators working for county Sheriff Jack Hall, a Republican, executed search warrants at 911 and the county administration building last week. Although Hall denied that the timing of the searches was politically motivated, as the commissioners suggested, they no doubt played a role in the election. Unless there was reason to believe that evidence would have disappeared between last week and today, Hall would have been wiser to delay the search until the primary was over. It's also worth noting that Tuesday was the first time since 2020 that more county Democrats (28,124) than Republicans (23,061) cast ballots in a primary election in a midterm or presidential year. Between 2016 and 2020, the only time Republican turnout exceeded Democratic turnout in an even-year primary was in 2016, when Donald Trump first ran for president. That recent history shows the red shift in the county's political makeup over the past 10 years. (Heading into the primary Tuesday, the county had 25,811 registered Democrats, 28,138 Republicans and 160,189 independent voters.) Although Democrats locally had a few more races to decide than Republicans did, the higher Democratic turnout this year can't be explained by a marquee statewide race on either side. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton didn't have a primary opponent, and former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown easily trounced his virtually unknown Democratic rival in his bid to return to the Senate. On the Republican side, gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who had Trump's endorsement, easily won his party's nomination. U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, R-Upper Arlington, didn't have a primary opponent. Tuesday's showing by Democrats in Lorain County can be read as evidence that even in a red-leaning county in red Ohio, Democratic voters are more motivated than Republicans this election cycle. Whether that trend will hold in the fall could depend on what happens with the economy, immigration enforcement and the war with Iran. Affordability is sure to remain a key issue, but on Tuesday, voters showed they were still willing to pass some tax increases. Voters approved new money for the county's Board of Developmental Disabilities, the Domonkas Branch Library in Sheffield Lake and the South Lorain County Ambulance District. Voters also approved additional money for Lorain Schools by a margin of 158 votes. Voters rejected tax increases for Amherst Schools, the city of Avon Lake, Columbia Township and Sheffield Township. Voters might be worried about the economy, but Tuesday's results showed that they can be persuaded to raise taxes under the right circumstances. As Riddell's race and the Lorain Schools' property tax levy demonstrated, every vote matters.