1990 Ohio gubernatorial election

The 1990 Ohio gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1990. Incumbent Democratic governor Dick Celeste was unable to run for a third consecutive term due to term limits. Former mayor of Cleveland George Voinovich, who also ran for the United States Senate in 1988, was uncontested for the Republican nomination, while Ohio Attorney General Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr. emerged from the Democratic primary. In the end, Voinovich was able to defeat Celebrezze by a fairly wide margin, winning his first term in office.

1990 Ohio gubernatorial election

← 1986 November 6, 1990 1994 →
 
Nominee George Voinovich Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr.
Party Republican Democratic
Popular vote 1,938,103 1,539,416
Percentage 55.7% 44.3%


Voinovich:      50–60%      60–70%
Celebrezze:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election

Dick Celeste
Democratic

Elected Governor

George Voinovich
Republican

Abortion was a key issue of the election. Celebrezze switched from his lifelong anti-abortion position to a pro-choice position nine days before declaring his candidacy. Assuming that this would help him in a mostly pro-choice state, he raised the issue frequently. Because of this, the topic of abortion made the news. This allowed Voinovich to have an issue to criticize Celebrezze's integrity, contributing to Voinovich's win.[1]

Democratic primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Democratic primary results[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Anthony J. Celebrezze, Jr. 683,932 83.85
Democratic Michael Hugh Lord 131,564 16.13
Democratic Write-ins 191 0.02
Total votes 815,687 100.00

Republican primary

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Candidates

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Results

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Republican primary results[3]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican George Voinovich 645,224 100.00
Total votes 645,224 100.00

General election

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Results

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Ohio gubernatorial election, 1990[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Republican George Voinovich 1,938,103 55.73% +16.36%
Democratic Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr. 1,539,416 44.27% −16.33%
Write-ins 131 0.00%
Majority 398,687 11.46% −9.77%
Turnout 3,477,650
Republican gain from Democratic Swing

References

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  1. ^ Hershey, Marjorie Randon (2000). "Constructing Explanations for U.S. State Governors' Races: The Abortion Issue and the 1990 Gubernatorial Election". Political Communication. 17 (3): 239–262. doi:10.1080/105846000414269. S2CID 143420185. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  2. ^ Election results [dead link]
  3. ^ Election results 1990 [dead link]
  4. ^ Election results 1990 [dead link]