Democratic candidate Danny O’Connor took an early lead in Tuesday’s special election in Ohio’s 12th congressional district, riding a wave of support in the early vote.
As Nate Cohn pointed out, O’Connor won the early vote in Franklin County by a massive 80 to 19 point margin.
O’Connor wins the Franklin County early vote, 80 to 19 percent. Again: this is not a surprise, can’t read much into it
— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) August 7, 2018
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While it’s still early, MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki pointed out that Trump won nearly twice as much of the early vote in Franklin County just two years ago.
Early vote boosting the Democratic candidate early in #OH-12. Still early. pic.twitter.com/EtNxAInbAt
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) August 7, 2018
In a race as close as this is shaping up to be, that could be a bad sign as the night progresses. However, given the historical advantage Republicans have in OH-12 and the fact that the early vote was already expected to favor the Democrat, it’s far too early to tell where the race will fall.
Donald Trump won the district by 11 points in 2016. If O’Connor is able to pull off a victory, it would be a devastating blow to Republicans heading into the November midterms.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
