Three days after Election Day, both Ohio House races touching Wood County are still too close to call, separated by a combined 182 votes — and 1,355 provisional ballots still waiting to be counted will decide them. Wood County Board of Elections Co-Director Terry Burton laid out the numbers in a Nov. 6 interview reported by the BG Chamber and WBGU-FM.
In the 75th District, which covers nearly all of Wood County, incumbent Republican Rep. Haraz Ghanbari of Perrysburg leads Democratic challenger Rick Rettig by 126 votes — 23,193 (50.14 percent) to 23,067 (49.86 percent) in the unofficial count, according to Burton’s figures reported by the BG Chamber. The Columbus Dispatch independently reported the same 126-vote margin, and analyses by Bricker Graydon and Vorys also list the race as too close to call.
The 44th District, an open seat covering parts of Wood, Lucas and Ottawa counties, is even tighter. Republican Ed Schimmel leads Democrat David Fournier by just 56 votes — 47.97 percent to 47.87 percent — in the board of elections figures reported by the BG Chamber, with Independent Lyndsey Stough also in the race. The Dispatch described Schimmel as holding a slim lead, and Vorys lists the district as too close to call; the seat opened when Republican Rep. Josh Williams vacated it to run for U.S. Congress, according to the Dispatch.
Burton told BG Chamber and WBGU-FM that 1,355 provisional ballots still need to be counted before an official winner can be declared in Wood County. Ghanbari, appointed in 2019 and now in his third term, is a Navy Reserve commander who chairs the House Small Business Committee; Rettig is a retired teacher and school counselor who serves as Perrysburg City Council president, according to the Fostoria Free Press ballot guide. Schimmel is the mayor of Northwood, an attorney and a fifth-generation farmer, and Fournier is an employment-benefits attorney, according to the Toledo Free Press voter’s guide.
The two races matter beyond Wood County. Democrats broke the Republicans’ veto-proof Ohio House supermajority on Nov. 3 regardless of these outcomes, The Columbus Dispatch reported, and the Wood County seats are among four House races statewide still too close to call — meaning they will set the size of the majority that Governor-elect Amy Acton faces, not which party controls the chamber. Both margins sit well inside Ohio’s automatic-recount territory once results are certified, though no recount has been ordered.
The wait now has dates. The Wood County Board of Elections meets Tuesday, Nov. 17 at 8:30 a.m. to accept the approved provisional ballots and count them, then meets again Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 8:30 a.m. to certify the results with the provisionals added in, according to the board’s schedule reported by the BG Chamber. Our earlier coverage tracked the county’s path here — Wood County’s results staying unofficial as the canvass window opens — and neighboring counties are on the same clock, including Fulton County’s unofficial results. Until the board certifies, both House races remain exactly what they have been since Tuesday night: undecided.
Photo: Mbrickn, CC BY-SA