Though a record 3.4 million Ohioans cast ballots early by mail or in person, among those standing in lines to vote on election day was Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, near his home in Cedarville.
DeWine and his wife Fran arrived at the Cedarland Event Center around 10:20 a.m., wearing masks and keeping a six-foot distance for the governor's first face-to-face press event in months.
“I’m kind of a traditionalist, I guess. I’ve always voted this way," DeWine said. “I think one, one time maybe I was out of town I voted absentee, I can’t remember. But you know, this is where we always vote, see our neighbors out. It’s always a good thing.”
The DeWines joined a line of about 50 voters, which took 45 minutes to get through the polling place. They greeted and spoke to many people, including their son-in-law and grandson Tadhg, who was born not long after DeWine's inauguration as governor in 2019.
DeWine said he voted for "the president," because he said he’s very happy with Donald Trump's nominations to the U.S. Supreme Court and the federal courts, the economy and the development of a coronavirus vaccine, which DeWine said Trump doesn’t get much credit for. Fran DeWine said she also planned to vote for Trump.
Trump won Ohio by 8 points in 2016, but polls indicate the race between him and former Vice President Joe Biden is much tighter.
DeWine said after the election, the state and nation need to come together to fight the virus as a common enemy.
This public appearance for DeWine is a departure from the last few months. DeWine's twice-weekly press conferences haven't been in the same room with reporters since April, and he's done appearances and events from his home since August, after he initially tested positive for coronavirus before a planned meeting with Trump in Cleveland. Two follow-up PCR tests came back negative.
