Ohio voters face big decisions ahead of 2022 midterms

The following story was written by a student on the staff of The Jaguar Times as part of Hilliard Bradley High School’s Journalism Production course.

by Eric Sese

News Editor

The 2022 midterm elections in Ohio and across the country will be held on November 8, 2022. Eligible voters will go to polling locations which are monitored by poll workers. Photo by Eric Sese.

In less a couple weeks, voters all around the country will head to the polls to exercise their right to vote. Whether it’s abortion, inflation, immigration, or equality—every voter has something at stake during the 2022 midterm elections. Ohio is no exception.

Last May, Ohio voters nominated candidates to represent their political party of choice. Now these partisan nominees will face every voter in Ohio come November. In the race to succeed retiring Republican Senator Rob Portman, fellow Republican J.D. Vance goes head to head with longtime Democratic Representative Tim Ryan.

Despite a Republican leaning national and statewide political environment, Tim Ryan hopes to exceed expectations and pick-up this Republican-held Senate seat. He has campaigned as a moderate Democrat who is fighting for working-class Ohioans. Meanwhile, J.D. Vance is campaigning as a Trump-endorsed Republican who is campaigning to further the former President’s political agenda.

Although former President Trump won Ohio twice by a similar 8-point margin, popularly referenced pollster, FiveThirtyEight’s metrics point to a narrow Vance victory. Their polling model, which simulates the 2022 midterm elections 40,000 times, projects a 3-point margin of victory.

While incumbent Republican Governor Mike DeWine failed to win 50% in his party’s primary election, the same cannot be said about the general election. Despite partisan backlash regarding his approach to the COVID-19 pandemic, he has received bipartisan praise for other actions. Most notably in early-2022, computer chip manufacturer Intel announced a $20 billion investment in an Ohio facility.

Since 1958, every Republican governor in Ohio has won re-election by double-digits. Despite Democratic opponent Nan Whaley’s best efforts, Governor Mike DeWine is poised to cruise to an easy victory. FiveThirtyEight predicts DeWine will win by a whopping 20-point margin, a major improvement over his narrow 4-point victory four years ago.

After 2020 congressional redistricting in Ohio, Hilliard residents have been placed in Ohio’s 15th United States Congressional District. The district, represented by Trump-endorsed incumbent Mike Carey, is a Republican-leaning district. It is not expected to be competitive, and pundits commonly classify it as a solidly-Republican district this election cycle.

Midterm elections have historically been beneficial for the political party opposite of the incumbent President. Although this may appear true on paper, it all comes down to voter opinion and participation.

Recent developments in United States politics have encouraged high voter turnout from both political parties. Social studies teacher, Mr. Bleh, emphasizes how midterm elections give voters “a voice in the direction we would like to see the country go” especially following consequential presidential elections which occur two years prior.

As the general voting population gets younger overall, teenagers and young adults have been encouraged to get out and vote throughout the groovy social media. Voting-age Bradley students like Jillian Cline (12) understand “how important [elections] are this year.” She further elaborates that every person should exercise their right to vote for the people “[they] want to represent [their] views” in Congress. Class President Menna Al Khafaji (12) believes that people should vote to keep “bad people out of government,” a common belief many voters have maintained in years past.

Politics has shaped America in so many ways for decades. 2022 is no different.

FiveThirtyEight’s 2022 Election Forecast