1990 Ohio gubernatorial election

The 1990 Ohio gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 1990. Incumbent Democratic governor Dick Celeste was unable to run for a third consecutive term due to term limits. Former mayor of Cleveland George Voinovich, who also ran for the United States Senate in 1988, was uncontested for the Republican nomination, while Ohio Attorney General Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr. emerged from the Democratic primary. In the end, Voinovich was able to defeat Celebrezze by a fairly wide margin, winning his first term in office.

1990 Ohio gubernatorial election

← 1986 November 6, 1990 1994 →

Nominee George Voinovich Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr. Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,938,103 1,539,416 Percentage 55.7% 44.3%

County results Township results Voinovich:      50–60%      60–70% Celebrezze:      50–60%      60–70%

Governor before election Dick Celeste Democratic Elected Governor George Voinovich Republican

Abortion was a key issue of the election. Celebrezze switched from his lifelong anti-abortion position to a pro-choice position nine days before declaring his candidacy. Assuming that this would help him in a mostly pro-choice state, he raised the issue frequently. Because of this, the topic of abortion made the news. This allowed Voinovich to have an issue to criticize Celebrezze's integrity, contributing to Voinovich's win.^[1]

Democratic primary

Candidates

• Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr., Attorney General of Ohio
• Michael Hugh Lord, businessman

Results

Democratic primary results^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Anthony J. Celebrezze, Jr.	683,932	83.85
	Democratic	Michael Hugh Lord	131,564	16.13
	Democratic	Write-ins	191	0.02
Total votes			815,687	100.00

Republican primary

Candidates

• George Voinovich, former mayor of Cleveland, former lieutenant governor and nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1988

Results

Republican primary results^[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	George Voinovich	645,224	100.00
Total votes			645,224	100.00

General election

Results

Ohio gubernatorial election, 1990^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Republican	George Voinovich	1,938,103	55.73%	+16.36%
	Democratic	Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr.	1,539,416	44.27%	-16.33%
	Write-ins		131	0.00%
Majority			398,687	11.46%	-9.77%
Turnout			3,477,650
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing

References

1. Hershey, Marjorie Randon (2000). "Constructing Explanations for U.S. State Governors' Races: The Abortion Issue and the 1990 Gubernatorial Election". Political Communication. 17 (3): 239–262. doi:10.1080/105846000414269. S2CID 143420185. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
2. Election results ^{[dead link]}
3. Election results 1990 ^{[dead link]}
4. Election results 1990 ^{[dead link]}