Super Tuesday, saw Mitt Romney winning Ohio, but Rick Santorum winning Lucas County; Rep. Marcy Kaptur triumphing over Rep. Dennis Kucinich despite Lucas County Board of Elections snafus and the ¾ renewal income tax levy’s passage. All results below are unofficial and based on Lucas County Board of Election and Secretary of State figures.
Former Gov. Romney won 38 percent of Ohio votes while Former Sen. Santorum had 37 percent. Former Speaker Newt Gingrich finished with 15 percent and Congressman Ron Paul ended up with 9 percent. Gov. Rick Perry and former Gov. Jon Huntsman, who have both withdrawn from the race, finished around half a percentage point.
Romney, who visited Toledo on Feb. 29, ended up with 37 percent of the votes in Lucas County compared to Santorum, who visited Perrysburg on Feb. 28, receiving 38 percent. Paul received 13 percent and Gingrich gained 12 percent in the area.
Idaho, Virginia, Massachusetts, Alaska and Vermont also went to Romney on March 6. Santorum took North Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee and Gingrich won in Georgia.
In the Democrats’ race to represent District 9, unofficial results show Kaptur with 56 percent of the votes while Kucinich had about 40 percent. Graham Veysey took 4 percent.
Both candidates are longtime congress members while Veysey runs a documentary company. In Lucas County, Kaptur received 94 percent of the votes while Kucinich took 4 percent and Veysey took 2 percent. However, in Cuyahoga County, Kucinich’s turf, he took 73 percent compared to Kaptur’s 24 percent and Veysey’s 3 percent. Kaptur won Erie, Lorain and Ottawa counties. Veysey came in second in Ottawa County with 11 percent to Kucinich’s 8 percent.
Kaptur’s victory was not without its moments of drama—about 70 Lucas County voters may have received the wrong ballot March 6, said Steve Fought, Kaptur’s campaign manager.
“It’s just sloppy work on the part of the Board of Elections. Voters in Lucas County have had enough of this; it’s time for the Board of Elections to get its act together,” he said.
Samuel Wurzelbacher aka Joe the Plumber will face Kaptur in November, according to unofficial results. In a tight district race, he earned 51 percent versus Steven Kraus’ 49 percent. In Lucas County, Wurzelbacher finished with 65 percent and Kraus with 35 percent. Wurzelbacher also won Cuyahoga and Ottawa counties while Kraus took Erie and Lorain.
Holland resident Wurzelbacher gained fame when he asked Barack Obama about his tax plan in the 2008 campaign. Kraus is a real-estate agent and auctioneer.
Fifty-seven percent of Toledo voters were for Issue 1, the ¾ percent payroll tax renewal while 43 percent are against it. The temporary tax brings in about $51 million annually and has been on the books for 28 years.
Passage means the city can maintain its plan of graduating more police and fire classes in addition to a “robust” street repaving program, said Council President Joe McNamara on March 6.
“Had it failed, that would probably have been the first thing to go,” he said.
“I didn’t know what to expect because these have been challenging times in terms of the economy,” he added of the issue’s passage. “I’m just grateful that a majority continue to support the City of Toledo.”
In the race to face Sen. Sherrod Brown in November, Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel took 63 percent of votes. Michael Pryce earned 14 percent and Donna Glisman earned 12 percent. David Dodt and Eric LaMont Gregory both took about 5 percent while Russell Bliss took .21 percent.
With 57 percent of the votes, Toledo City Councilman Phil Copeland will run against colleague Republican George Sarantou in the county recorder race, according to unofficial results. Oregon City Councilman James Seaman had 29 percent and attorney Kevin Eff had 14 percent.
“I want to go and be a part of it and I may have some ideas when I get in there,” Copeland has said of his plan for the office.
