Republican Jean Schmidt is claiming victory over Democratic challenger Victoria Wulsin in Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District race.
But because Schmidt’s margin of victory is not large, Wulsin has said she is not prepared to concede.
Unofficial results early Wednesday morning were showing Schmidt ahead of Wulsin 115,817 votes to 112,952. That 2,865 vote difference put Schmidt ahead 50.58 percent to 49.32 percent.
Wulsin campaign spokesperson Ady Barkan said late Tuesday that Dr. Wulsin will not concede the election until the thousands of provisional ballots are counted and included with the final count (which could take 10 days).
“We are still confident that when every ballot is counted, especially the provisional ballots, Wulsin will emerge victorious,” he said.
Wulsin is also stating that an investigative team may be coming from Washington D.C. to examine the election results.
At press time, the numbers show that Schmidt has unofficially defeated Democratic challenger Dr. Victoria Wulsin.
The 2nd District includes Adams, Brown, Clermont, Hamilton, Pike, Scioto, and Warren counties.
“It feels wonderful, winning is always exciting,” said Schmidt in the Batavia Republican Headquarters Tuesday night. “This is the fourth time that I have had this experience on a congressional level and one never becomes immune to the thrill of winning.”
Clermont County reports that Schmidt had 35,373 votes to Wulsin’s 27,563. The remaining counties where Schmidt has beaten Wulsin are Adams County, with 4,474 to 3,704 votes, and Warren County, with 16,102 to 11,246 votes.
Wulsin has emerged victorious in Brown County with 7,058 votes to Schmidt’s 6,224, Pike County, 5,597 to 3,558 votes, Scioto County, with 149 to 114 votes, and Hamilton County with 47,524 to 42,483 votes.
“The voters that live in the second congressional district know me,” a confident Schmidt said. “They know that I represent their values and beliefs because I am their values and beliefs. We are one and the same. I come from middle-class roots just like most of the folks in the second district.”
Schmidt said that the second district voters need someone, and have now elected someone, who will champion their causes.
“Causes that include lower taxes, sealing the borders, and making sure that we win this war on terror,” she said.