More than 8,000 outstanding ballots are giving the Danny O’Connor campaign a tiny glimmer of hope in the race to represent Ohio’s 12th Congressional District. But the chances of the Democrat winning is looking like a bit of long shot.
Republican Troy Balderson holds a narrow lead in the congressional race, besting O’Connor by less than 2,000 votes. There are enough remaining ballots to flip the final result.
But Herb Asher, Ohio State professor emeritus of political science, explains the chances are slim.
“O’Connor would need about 60 percent of the absentee and provisional votes in order to overcome that 1,700 vote deficit that he has,” he said.
It’s a near certainty some of the 8,400-odd provisional and absentee ballots will be thrown out, which could only make O’Connor’s task harder. State law mandates county election boards wait 11 days to begin counting those votes, so they’ll begin August 18.
