County voters turned out for Republicans
Party chief credits organized effort to GOP sweep in county
Chuck Calvert and Lisa Woods helped organize successful election efforts for local candidates at the campaign headquarters set up for the Medina County Republican Party this fall. Photo by GLENN WOJCIAK
MEDINA – The Nov. 8 General Election was a surprising success for President-elect Donald Trump and a big triumph for the Republican Party.
Republican domination of the ballot was evident in Medina County where not a single Democrat was elected to state or county office in this year’s voting.
The biggest surprise of election night was not that Donald Trump got more votes than Hillary Clinton in Medina County, but that County Prosecutor Dean Holman was defeated by Republican Challenger Forrest Thompson. Holman was first elected in 1988 and had been re-elected six straight times prior to Nov. 8.
Trump won 59 percent of the vote in Medina County, a substantial margin but rather modest compared to the margins rolled up by other Republicans on the ballot. For instance, Treasurer John Burke got 75 percent of the vote, Recorder Colleen Swedyk, 70 percent; and U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci and State Rep. Steve Hambley both won about 68 percent of the votes here in their re-election bids.
In addition, State Sen. Larry Obhof got 67 percent of the vote in Medina County, Clerk of Courts Dave Wadsworth, 66 percent; and County Commissioner Pat Geissman, 65 percent.
Democrat Neil Grabenstetter has served as county coroner since 1988 and has seldom been challenged for re-election, but this time he was and he lost. Republican Lisa Deranek defeated Grabenstetter and did so handily with 61 percent of the vote.
Chuck Calvert, chairman of the Medina County Republican Party, credited the success of GOP candidates to hard work by both the candidates and a corps of 50 volunteers.
“We had a great team,” Calvert said. “We also had lots of volunteers who put in a lot of effort starting with our party’s booth at the (Medina County) Fair.”
Calvert said winning elections is not a forgone conclusion for Republicans in Medina County.
“There are some places where you can get elected just because of your party label,” Calvert said. “That’s not the case in Medina County. There are more independent voters here than either Republicans or Democrats. I tell our candidates they have to go out and earn those Independent votes if they expect to win.”
As for the presidential election, Calvert said he could see that coming as well because he sensed an uneasy mood among the voters he encountered this year who were receptive to the Trump candidacy.
“The approval level of Congress has never been lower,” Calvert said. “People just want change.”
That sentiment was also reflected in the more than 3,000 Trump campaign signs distributed from the party headquarters in Medina this fall.
“That’s an unbelievable number,” Calvert said. “We kept running out of signs and reordering them. A lot of younger people who we had never seen before were coming to our events and asking for signs.”
The Nov. 8 election also was noteworthy for setting records in turnout and early voting in Medina County. More than 91,000 voters, or 75 percent of the county’s 121,268 registered voters cast ballot in this election. Just over 34,000 voted early by casting in-person or mailed in absentee ballots.
Carol Lawler, director of the Medina County Board of Elections, said turnout was higher than expected.
“This was an unusual year because of the unpopularity of the presidential candidates,” she said. “We didn’t know if voters would turn out of stay at home.”
They did not stay home. The previous records for turnout in Medina County was set in the presidential election year of 2008 when 90,652 voters cast ballots here. About 33,000 Medina County voters took advantage of early voting in the 2012 presidential election. That year, President Barack Obama and Sen. Sherrod Brown both lost by relatively small margins in Medina County but won the statewide vote.
Republican domination of the ballot was evident in Medina County where not a single Democrat was elected to state or county office in this year’s voting.
The biggest surprise of election night was not that Donald Trump got more votes than Hillary Clinton in Medina County, but that County Prosecutor Dean Holman was defeated by Republican Challenger Forrest Thompson. Holman was first elected in 1988 and had been re-elected six straight times prior to Nov. 8.
Trump won 59 percent of the vote in Medina County, a substantial margin but rather modest compared to the margins rolled up by other Republicans on the ballot. For instance, Treasurer John Burke got 75 percent of the vote, Recorder Colleen Swedyk, 70 percent; and U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci and State Rep. Steve Hambley both won about 68 percent of the votes here in their re-election bids.
In addition, State Sen. Larry Obhof got 67 percent of the vote in Medina County, Clerk of Courts Dave Wadsworth, 66 percent; and County Commissioner Pat Geissman, 65 percent.
Democrat Neil Grabenstetter has served as county coroner since 1988 and has seldom been challenged for re-election, but this time he was and he lost. Republican Lisa Deranek defeated Grabenstetter and did so handily with 61 percent of the vote.
Chuck Calvert, chairman of the Medina County Republican Party, credited the success of GOP candidates to hard work by both the candidates and a corps of 50 volunteers.
“We had a great team,” Calvert said. “We also had lots of volunteers who put in a lot of effort starting with our party’s booth at the (Medina County) Fair.”
Calvert said winning elections is not a forgone conclusion for Republicans in Medina County.
“There are some places where you can get elected just because of your party label,” Calvert said. “That’s not the case in Medina County. There are more independent voters here than either Republicans or Democrats. I tell our candidates they have to go out and earn those Independent votes if they expect to win.”
As for the presidential election, Calvert said he could see that coming as well because he sensed an uneasy mood among the voters he encountered this year who were receptive to the Trump candidacy.
“The approval level of Congress has never been lower,” Calvert said. “People just want change.”
That sentiment was also reflected in the more than 3,000 Trump campaign signs distributed from the party headquarters in Medina this fall.
“That’s an unbelievable number,” Calvert said. “We kept running out of signs and reordering them. A lot of younger people who we had never seen before were coming to our events and asking for signs.”
The Nov. 8 election also was noteworthy for setting records in turnout and early voting in Medina County. More than 91,000 voters, or 75 percent of the county’s 121,268 registered voters cast ballot in this election. Just over 34,000 voted early by casting in-person or mailed in absentee ballots.
Carol Lawler, director of the Medina County Board of Elections, said turnout was higher than expected.
“This was an unusual year because of the unpopularity of the presidential candidates,” she said. “We didn’t know if voters would turn out of stay at home.”
They did not stay home. The previous records for turnout in Medina County was set in the presidential election year of 2008 when 90,652 voters cast ballots here. About 33,000 Medina County voters took advantage of early voting in the 2012 presidential election. That year, President Barack Obama and Sen. Sherrod Brown both lost by relatively small margins in Medina County but won the statewide vote.