MARION — Marion County voters went their own way in Ohio’s biggest races on Tuesday, Nov. 3, backing Republican Vivek Ramaswamy for governor and Republican Jon Husted for U.S. Senate even as Democrat Amy Acton won the governorship statewide and Democrat Sherrod Brown won the Senate race statewide, according to Associated Press election results for Marion County. With 44 of the county’s 45 precincts reporting — an estimated 98% of the vote counted — the county also approved statewide Issue 3 by more than 3 to 1. All results are unofficial until certified.
In the governor’s race, Ramaswamy received 11,323 votes in Marion County to 7,595 for Acton, with Libertarian Don Kissick receiving 979, according to the Associated Press — about 57% for Ramaswamy in the county. Statewide, the Associated Press called the race for Acton, and the Columbus Dispatch reported her leading about 50% to 46% and becoming the first woman elected governor of Ohio and the first Democrat to win the office in 20 years.
The Senate pattern was nearly identical. Husted received 11,480 votes in Marion County to 7,076 for Brown, according to the Associated Press, with Libertarian William Redpath receiving 866 and independent Greg Levy receiving 518. Brown won the seat statewide despite trailing in Marion County.
Marion County’s clearest verdict came on Issue 3, the constitutional amendment requiring voter identification. County voters approved it 15,138 to 4,739 — about 76% yes — according to the Associated Press. Statewide, the Dispatch reported in its coverage that Issue 3 passed about 66% to 34%, enshrining Ohio’s existing photo ID requirement for in-person voting in the state constitution, so Marion County backed the measure by a wider margin than Ohio as a whole.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: The statewide numbers above are verified from Associated Press county-level results with nearly all precincts reporting. What is not yet in hand in the reporting checked overnight is a complete picture of Marion County’s own local decisions — including the county commissioner race and local levies on the Nov. 3 ballot, among them the Crawford-Marion ADAMH board’s 1-mill renewal levy described in the board’s own levy information. NewsForce247 is not calling those local outcomes until the Marion County Board of Elections publishes its local totals and, later, its certified canvass.
For Marion County residents, the split means the county will be governed from Columbus by a governor it did not majority-back and represented in Washington by a senator it did not majority-back, while living under a voter ID amendment it strongly supported.
What happens next is certification. The Marion County Board of Elections must complete its official canvass, including any eligible provisional ballots, before the Ohio Secretary of State certifies the statewide results. Until then, every number in this story remains unofficial, and close local races or levies could still shift. NewsForce247 will update this coverage with the board’s local totals and certified results when they are released.