WAVERLY, Ohio — Pike County voters backed Republicans by wide margins, picked a commissioner and rejected two tax levies in the November 3, 2026, general election, according to unofficial results from the Pike County Board of Elections and the Ohio Secretary of State. The count showed 8,693 ballots cast out of 17,120 registered voters, turnout of 50.8 percent, with all 22 precincts reporting. Every figure remains unofficial until certification.
The county voted the opposite way from Ohio as a whole at the top of the ticket. In the Associated Press tabulation of board and Secretary of State data, Republican Vivek Ramaswamy carried Pike County for governor with 5,402 votes, 63.4 percent, to Democrat Amy Acton’s 2,811, 33.0 percent, with Libertarian Don Kissick taking 307 — county-only figures; the AP called the statewide race for Acton. Republican Jon Husted likewise carried the county for U.S. Senate, 5,348 votes, 62.7 percent, to Democrat Sherrod Brown’s 2,683, 31.5 percent, in the same AP tabulation; the AP called that race for Brown statewide.
State Issue 3, the photo ID constitutional amendment, passed overwhelmingly in the county: 6,468 yes votes, 78.0 percent, to 1,825 no, 22.0 percent, in the Secretary of State’s unofficial count. In Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District, Republican David Taylor carried the county with 69.2 percent to Democrat Jen Mazzuckelli’s 30.8 percent, in unofficial returns reported by the Scioto Valley Guardian.
Neil Edward Leist defeated Bob Thompson for a commissioner seat, 5,708 votes, 67.3 percent, to Thompson’s 2,773, 32.7 percent, according to unofficial Pike County Board of Elections results reported by the Scioto Valley Guardian. Also in the board’s report, Paul Price was returned unopposed as Common Pleas judge for the Probate and Juvenile Division, with 6,130 votes, and Davida K. Brown was elected auditor unopposed, with 6,532 votes.
County voters rejected both tax measures. An additional 2-mill, five-year levy for the Pike County Board of Developmental Disabilities failed in unofficial returns, 5,126 against, 62.5 percent, to 3,078 in favor, 37.5 percent. The Waverly City School District income tax was also defeated, 2,607 against, 68.9 percent, to 1,176 in favor, 31.1 percent, in the nine precincts where it appeared, per the board’s returns reported by the Scioto Valley Guardian.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on: the unofficial totals are not final. The Secretary of State’s office reported 77 outstanding absentee and 200 outstanding provisional ballots in the county still to be resolved, so totals will shift — though the commissioner’s 2,935-vote margin and the DD levy’s 2,048-vote margin both exceed them. Under Directive 2026-48, voters with a ballot deficiency have until Saturday, November 7, to cure it.
What happens next is the official canvass. Under Directive 2026-48, the Pike County Board of Elections must begin its canvass between Sunday, November 8, and Wednesday, November 18, 2026, and certify by Tuesday, November 24, 2026. The Secretary of State then reviews county certifications before final statewide certification. NewsForce247 will update this story with the certified results.