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Renacci Chides Kasich, Channels Trump in Concession Speech

Congressman Jim Renacci gives his concession speech at Wadsworth's Galaxy Restaurant in the race for U.S. Senate.
Mark Arehart
/
WKSU
Congressman Jim Renacci gives his concession speech at Wadsworth's Galaxy Restaurant in the race for U.S. Senate.

Ohio voters elected Democrat Sherrod Brown to a third senate term Tuesday night. He beat Republican challenger and Congressman Jim Renacci.

A mood of cautious optimism to start the evening at the Galaxy Restaurant in Wadsworth quickly turned somber for Renacci supporters when the race was called. But a roar of applause still rang out as Jim Renacci took the stage for his concession speech where he called out Governor John Kasich for dividing the Ohio Republican Party by not supporting President Trump’s agenda.

"We have an agenda of growth. We have wage rates going up. We have unemployment going down. (These) are the policies that I’m proud to be behind. And I’m very proud to be behind this president."

The Wadsworth Republican was originally a candidate in the crowded Ohio governor’s race, but dropped out to run for the Senate in January. Sherrod Brown’s campaign outraised Renacci’s by more than $20 million.

When asked what’s next for him after he leaves elected office this January, Renacci said he’s going to “take a little break” from politics and worry about what’s next sometime in the future.

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Mark has been a host, reporter and producer at several NPR member stations in Delaware, Alaska, Washington and Kansas. His reporting has taken him everywhere from remote islands in the Bering Sea to the tops of skyscrapers overlooking Puget Sound. He is a diehard college basketball fan who enjoys taking walks with his dog, Otis.