Lawrence County voters turned out at 46.83% in the November 3 general election, casting 18,321 ballots out of 39,122 registered voters, according to the unofficial summary results released by the Lawrence County Board of Elections. All 84 precincts have reported, and the county’s official canvass and certification are still ahead, with Ohio boards required to certify by November 24 under the Secretary of State’s schedule.
Lawrence County ran strongly Republican at the top of the ticket, bucking the statewide results. Vivek Ramaswamy and Robert A. McColley carried the county for governor and lieutenant governor with 11,161 votes (61.78%) to 6,162 (34.11%) for Amy Acton and David Pepper, and Jon Husted led the U.S. Senate race in the county with 11,023 votes (61.04%) to Sherrod Brown’s 5,961 (33.01%), with Libertarian William B. Redpath at 636 and independent Greg Levy at 414, the board’s summary shows.
The rest of the statewide slate ran Republican in Lawrence County by wide margins: Keith Faber took 66.85% for attorney general, Frank LaRose 67.11% for auditor, Robert Sprague 64.06% for secretary of state and Jay Edwards 66.83% for treasurer. Lawrence voters also favored Daniel R. Hawkins (66.81%) and Colleen O’Donnell (66.22%) for the two Ohio Supreme Court seats, David J. Taylor (67.31%) for Congress in the 2nd District, and Issue 3, the statewide photo ID constitutional amendment, which passed in the county with 77.98% voting yes.
In the legislative races on Lawrence County ballots, Shane Wilkin won the 17th District state Senate seat with 65.59% and Jason Stephens took the 93rd District state House seat with 68.07%, according to the board’s unofficial summary. The Ironton Tribune reported the same margins in its election coverage — Stephens defeated Jessica Harper about 70-30 and Wilkin defeated Brian Deer about 68-32 in their full districts.
In the county’s own courthouse races, Commissioner Mike Finley was unopposed with 13,473 votes and Auditor Paul David Knipp was unopposed with 14,323 votes. Common Pleas Judge Andy Ballard and Probate/Juvenile Judge Patricia Sanders were also unopposed, the board’s summary shows.
The closest local question was the Lawrence County Joint Vocational School’s permanent improvement tax levy, which failed by 352 votes — 8,708 (49.01%) for to 9,060 (50.99%) against, according to the board’s unofficial summary. Ironton voters rejected a recreation tax levy (53.44% against), while Chesapeake’s police levy passed with 55.56% in favor, Proctorville’s current-expenses and fire levies both passed, and the Fayette Township and Rome Township fire levies passed with about 60% and 62% in favor, respectively.
What happens next is the canvass itself: the board will complete its official count, resolve provisional and late-arriving eligible absentee ballots under state rules, and certify the county’s results by the November 24 deadline. Certified results are then transmitted to the Secretary of State, closing the books on Lawrence County’s 2026 general election.
Photo: Doug Kerr, CC BY-SA