It was what Ohio Democrats longed for and what Ohio Republicans dreaded. The blue wave crashed ashore and swept Amy Acton over Vivek Ramaswamy in the bitter race for governor.
That same wave in two short years turned Sherrod Brown from ousted U.S. senator to ousting current U.S. Sen. Jon Husted after a campaign that cost half a billion dollars.
Democrats ousted three sitting Republican congressmen. Brian Poindexter beat Max Miller of suburban Cleveland. Don Leonard beat Mike Carey of Columbus. And in perhaps the biggest surprise, Kristina Knickerbocker beat Mike Turner of Dayton.
Democrats won every statewide office but one. They won both contested Ohio Supreme Court seats.
It was the biggest wave election in Ohio since 2010, when Republicans reversed the Democratic wave of 2006.
Lots to break down, and to do that, we welcome Sandy Theis, former Statehouse journalist and now a Democratic communications strategist.
Snollygoster of the week
In a 600-word post on social media, JD Vance blamed the Republican defeat on the war with Iran.
He wrote, in part:
"If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that's at least honest."
Now, it was carefully worded. And he reportedly ran it past the president before posting it, but it’s a clear break from Trump, less than 24 hours after the election and 24 hours into the 2028 campaign. The conservative New York Post reported on the story with a picture of Vance under the headline "Hillbilly Eulogy." Ouch.
Nonetheless, if he hopes to escape Trump’s unpopular shadow, it was pretty shrewd. JD Vance is our snollygoster of the week.