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Ohio's 8th Congressional District election, 2020

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2022
2018
Ohio's 8th Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: December 18, 2019
Primary: April 28, 2020
General: November 3, 2020

Pre-election incumbent:
Warren Davidson (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Voting in Ohio
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
Ohio's 8th Congressional District
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Ohio elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

All U.S. congressional districts, including the 8th Congressional District of Ohio, held elections in 2020.

Incumbent Warren Davidson won election in the general election for U.S. House Ohio District 8.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
December 18, 2019
April 28, 2020
November 3, 2020


Heading into the election the incumbent was Republican Warren Davidson, who was first elected in 2016. The race was one of 56 U.S. House rematches from 2018.

Ohio's 8th Congressional District is located in the western portion of the state and includes Darke, Miami, Clark, Preble and Butler counties and a part of Mercer County.[1]

Post-election analysis

The table below compares the vote totals in the 2020 presidential election and 2020 U.S. House election for this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

Presidential and congressional election results, Ohio's 8th Congressional District, 2020
Race Presidential U.S. House
Democratic candidate Democratic Party 32.5 31
Republican candidate Republican Party 66 69
Difference 33.5 38

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Ohio modified its absentee/mail-in voting procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:

  • Absentee/mail-in voting: Absentee ballot applications could be submitted by fax or email for the general election.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

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Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Ohio District 8

Incumbent Warren Davidson defeated Vanessa Enoch and Isaac Reed in the general election for U.S. House Ohio District 8 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Warren Davidson
Warren Davidson (R)
 
69.0
 
246,277
Image of Vanessa Enoch
Vanessa Enoch (D) Candidate Connection
 
31.0
 
110,766
Image of Isaac Reed
Isaac Reed (Independent) (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
114

Total votes: 357,157
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 8

Vanessa Enoch defeated Matthew Guyette in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 8 on April 28, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Vanessa Enoch
Vanessa Enoch Candidate Connection
 
79.5
 
24,297
Image of Matthew Guyette
Matthew Guyette Candidate Connection
 
20.5
 
6,269

Total votes: 30,566
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 8

Incumbent Warren Davidson defeated Edward Meer in the Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 8 on April 28, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Warren Davidson
Warren Davidson
 
91.3
 
53,542
Image of Edward Meer
Edward Meer Candidate Connection
 
8.7
 
5,125

Total votes: 58,667
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Nine of 88 Ohio counties—10.2 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Ashtabula County, Ohio 18.80% 12.78% 13.54%
Erie County, Ohio 9.48% 12.29% 13.86%
Montgomery County, Ohio 0.73% 4.62% 6.22%
Ottawa County, Ohio 19.51% 4.30% 6.24%
Portage County, Ohio 9.87% 5.52% 8.99%
Sandusky County, Ohio 22.58% 2.71% 4.64%
Stark County, Ohio 17.17% 0.47% 5.46%
Trumbull County, Ohio 6.22% 23.00% 22.43%
Wood County, Ohio 7.99% 4.84% 7.13%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Ohio with 51.7 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 43.6 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Ohio cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 93.3 percent of the time (28 out of 30 elections), more than any other state in the country. In that same time frame, Ohio supported Republican candidates for president more often than Democratic candidates, 60 to 40 percent. Between 2000 and 2016, Ohio voted for the winning presidential candidate in every election.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state House districts in Ohio. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[2][3]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 39 out of 99 state House districts in Ohio with an average margin of victory of 35.7 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 33 out of 99 state House districts in Ohio with an average margin of victory of 34 points. Clinton won seven districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 60 out of 99 state House districts in Ohio with an average margin of victory of 17.4 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 66 out of 99 state House districts in Ohio with an average margin of victory of 28.3 points. Trump won seven districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+17, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 17 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Ohio's 8th Congressional District the 64th most Republican nationally.[4]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.10. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.10 points toward that party.[5]

Campaign finance

This section contains campaign finance figures from the Federal Election Commission covering all candidate fundraising and spending in this election.[6] It does not include information on fundraising before the current campaign cycle or on spending by satellite groups. The numbers in this section are updated as candidates file new campaign finance reports. Candidates for Congress are required to file financial reports on a quarterly basis, as well as two weeks before any primary, runoff, or general election in which they will be on the ballot and upon the termination of any campaign committees.[7] The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Warren Davidson Republican Party $1,029,942 $854,735 $404,715 As of December 31, 2020
Vanessa Enoch Democratic Party $56,011 $43,543 $20,422 As of December 31, 2020
Isaac Reed Independent $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.


Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[8]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[9][10][11]

Race ratings: Ohio's 8th Congressional District election, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

District election history

2018

See also: Ohio's 8th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Ohio District 8

Incumbent Warren Davidson defeated Vanessa Enoch in the general election for U.S. House Ohio District 8 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Warren Davidson
Warren Davidson (R)
 
66.6
 
173,852
Image of Vanessa Enoch
Vanessa Enoch (D)
 
33.4
 
87,281

Total votes: 261,133
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 8

Vanessa Enoch defeated Ted Jones, Matthew Guyette, and Bill Ebben in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 8 on May 8, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Vanessa Enoch
Vanessa Enoch
 
57.9
 
11,587
Image of Ted Jones
Ted Jones
 
16.3
 
3,258
Image of Matthew Guyette
Matthew Guyette
 
13.6
 
2,728
Bill Ebben
 
12.2
 
2,437

Total votes: 20,010
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 8

Incumbent Warren Davidson advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 8 on May 8, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Warren Davidson
Warren Davidson
 
100.0
 
52,351

Total votes: 52,351
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2016

See also: Ohio's 8th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Warren Davidson (R) defeated Steve Fought (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Corey Foister ran unopposed in the Democratic primary but withdrew from the race in July. Fought won a special primary on September 13, 2016, to replace Foister on the ballot. Davidson defeated 14 other challengers to win the Republican primary on March 15, 2016.[12][13]

U.S. House, Ohio District 8 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngWarren Davidson Incumbent 68.8% 223,833
     Democratic Steve Fought 27% 87,794
     Green Derrick Hendricks 4.3% 13,879
Total Votes 325,506
Source: Ohio Secretary of State


U.S. House, Ohio District 8 Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngWarren Davidson 32.2% 42,701
Timothy Derickson 23.9% 31,685
Bill Beagle 19.6% 26,049
Jim Spurlino 7.2% 9,602
J.D. Winteregg 4.1% 5,375
Scott George 2.3% 3,094
Terri King 2.2% 2,970
Kevin F. White 1.8% 2,384
Michael Smith 1.5% 2,009
Matthew Ashworth 1.2% 1,637
John Robbins 1.2% 1,579
Eric Haemmerle 1% 1,386
George Wooley 0.8% 1,045
Edward Meer 0.5% 633
Joseph Matvey 0.4% 548
Total Votes 132,697
Source: Ohio Secretary of State

2014

See also: Ohio's 8th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 8th Congressional District of Ohio held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent John Boehner (R) defeated Tom Poetter (D) and Jim Condit Jr. (Constitution) in the general election.

U.S. House, Ohio District 8 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJohn Boehner Incumbent 67.2% 126,539
     Democratic Tom Poetter 27.4% 51,534
     Constitution Jim Condit Jr. 5.4% 10,257
Total Votes 188,330
Source: Ohio Secretary of State

See also

External links

Footnotes


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
Bob Latta (R)
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
Republican Party (12)
Democratic Party (5)