BRYAN, Ohio — Williams County voters backed Republicans in Ohio’s top statewide races on Tuesday, November 3, even as Democrats won those contests across the state, according to unofficial results reported through the Ohio Secretary of State’s Election Night Reporting system. With 25 of 26 precincts reporting and an estimated 98 percent of the vote counted, the northwest Ohio county stayed firmly Republican while the statewide map turned.
In the race for governor, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy carried Williams County with 8,396 votes to 4,302 for Democrat Amy Acton, according to the unofficial results; Acton won statewide. The Senate vote broke the same way: Republican Jon Husted received 8,619 votes to 3,968 for Democrat Sherrod Brown, with Libertarian William Redpath receiving 558 and independent Greg Levy 382, according to the unofficial results. Brown won the unexpired Senate term statewide.
Williams County also backed the Republican for secretary of state: Robert Sprague received 8,946 votes to 3,850 for Democrat Allison Russo and 533 for Libertarian Tom Pruss, according to the unofficial results; Russo won statewide. On statewide Issue 3, the proposed constitutional amendment requiring photo identification to vote, Williams County voted yes — 10,540 votes in favor to 2,933 against, according to the unofficial results — and the amendment passed statewide.
Statewide, the results ran the other way. According to unofficial results from the Ohio Secretary of State reported by The Columbus Dispatch, Acton won with 52.3 percent to Ramaswamy’s 44.3 percent, becoming the first woman elected governor of Ohio, Brown won with 50.1 percent to Husted’s 45.2 percent, and Issue 3 passed with about 65 percent voting yes.
Closer to home, the Board of Elections sample ballot showed Republican Bartley E. Westfall seeking a full term as county commissioner and Republican Vickie L. Grimm seeking county auditor. Voters also decided three countywide tax questions: Issue 6, a 0.4-mill OSU Extension renewal estimated to collect $311,924 annually; Issue 7, an additional 1-mill senior citizens services levy estimated to collect $1,182,325 annually; and Issue 8, a 0.7-mill Four County ADAMhs Board renewal estimated to collect $2,293,020 annually, according to the ballot language published by the Board of Elections.
Every figure remains unofficial. The Secretary of State’s results site states that results are unofficial until the Secretary of State certifies them, with the official canvass completed approximately three weeks after the election. County boards are now reviewing provisional ballots and eligible military and overseas absentee ballots, and voters correcting certain deficiencies have four days after Election Day to do so, according to a November 3 statement from Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
What happens next is set by the Secretary of State’s Directive 2026-48. Each board must begin its official canvass no earlier than Sunday, November 8, 2026, and no later than Wednesday, November 18, 2026, and must certify no later than Tuesday, November 24, 2026 — the twenty-first day after the election. The Secretary of State’s office will then review county certifications before statewide certification, according to Secretary LaRose’s November 3 statement.
Photo: Christopher L. Riley, CC BY-SA 4.0