Former President Donald Trump was projected to win Ohio on Tuesday night, marking the third election in a row he has carried the Buckeye State.
DecisionDesk HQ and Newsmax declared Trump the winner of Ohio’s 17 electoral votes. With 61% of precincts reporting, Trump held a 55.3%-43.8% lead over Democrat Vice President Kamala Harris.
If the margin of 11.5 percentage points stands, it would mark Trump’s most decisive victory in Ohio in his three presidential races. In 2016, he won the state by 8.1 points (51.3%-43-2%) over Hillary Clinton, and in 2020 he won by 8 points (53.2%-45.2%) over Joe Biden.
No Republican has won the presidency without carrying Ohio, and the winner of the state had won the presidency every year from 1964-2016 before Biden’s victory in 2020.
DecisionDesk HQ and Newsmax had yet to call the winner in the U.S. Senate race between Republican Bernie Moreno, who was endorsed by Trump, and incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown. With 63% of the precincts reporting as of 9:45 p.m. Eastern time, Moreno led 50.9%-46%. Flipping the seat could help Republicans strengthen their chances of securing the Senate majority.