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by Deering Dyer

After the dust settled early in the morning on Nov. 3, candidates with the "Friend of Agriculture" designation did very well in their respective races. Ohio Farm Bureau screened 21 open legislative seats and identified a "Friend of Agriculture" in 15 of those seats. In those races, 13 were successful. Ohio Farm Bureau members made "Farm Votes Matter," and there were a total of 118 races where there was a "Friend of Agriculture" identified. Of those, 113 prevailed. The following is a brief recap of the races for the Supreme Court, Congress and the Ohio General Assembly.

Friends of Ag Sweep Supreme Court Races
Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, Justice Terrence O’Donnell and Judge Judith A. Lanzinger all were elected to the Ohio Supreme Court. All three candidates ran on a platform of judicial restraint and pledged their view of the role of justice as one who interprets the law, not legislates from the bench. This reason, coupled with the tremendous experience these jurists brought to the court, prompted their designation as "Friend of Agriculture." The Chief Justice won by a margin of 53 percent to 47 percent over C. Ellen Connally, while Judge Lanzinger defeated Judge Nancy Fuerst 57 percent to 43 percent. Justice O’Donnell was victorious over Judge William O’Neill by an even wider margin of 60 percent to 40 percent.

U.S. Congress
Not to the surprise of most, Sen. George V. Voinovich defeated State Senator Eric Fingerhut; Voinovich won 64 percent of the votes cast. All 12 of the U.S. House "Friends of Agriculture" will return to Congress. Ohio’s congressional delegation will remain unchanged as all the incumbents won. The closest race was in the 4th Congressional District where Rep. Mike Oxley, R-Findlay, defeated Democratic challenger Ben Konop by a margin of 59 percent to 41 percent.

Ohio Senate
There was no change in the make-up of the Ohio Senate. The Republicans will maintain a 22-11 advantage in the 126th General Assembly. One race in particular that was thought to be competitive was in the 20th Senate District where Republican Joy Padgett and news journalist and former Lebanon hostage Terry Anderson squared off for the seat vacated by former Sen. Jim Carnes. Sen. Padgett held on for a convincing win by a margin of 54 percent to 46 percent. Charlie Wilson also won in an open seat race, which was held by former Senate Minority Leader Greg DiDonato. All 13 of the Ohio Senate "Friends of Agriculture" were victorious after the votes were tallied.

Ohio House of Representatives
One silver lining for Democrats was a net pick-up of three seats in the Ohio House of Representatives. While the Republicans still maintain a strong advantage of 59 seats to 44 seats, the Democrats were able to gain seats for the first time in 10 years. In a surprising turn, two incumbents lost their bids to return to the legislature. Nancy Hollister, former lieutenant governor, lost to Democrat Jennifer Garrison for the 93rd House District. Similarly, a Republican, Randy Law, defeated Daniel Sferra, an incumbent Democrat. Democrats also were able to pick up seats in the 62^nd and 63rd House Districts. Lorraine M. Fende and Timothy J. Cassell won the two seats. All told, of the 89 "Friends of Agriculture" identified in the Ohio House races, 84 were successful.

For a complete list of election results, visit www.ohioagriculturevotes.org