Fischer leads O’Donnell 50.3-49.6 percent with all Ohio precincts reporting, although all results remain unofficial. The Associated Press has not called the race for either candidate.
The secretary of state’s office reports roughly 158,000 provisional ballots have yet to be counted and some 103,000 absentee ballots are outstanding. That’s more than the 24,000 vote gap between the candidates, the AP reported today.
“This race for the Ohio Supreme Court is still too close to call, and there are hundreds of thousands of votes left to be counted,” said O’Donnell, a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judge and Democrat. “We are confident that when all of the votes are counted we will prevail.”
Fischer, a Republican and a judge on the 1st Ohio District Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, said he was “confident” the race would be called in his favor.
“There are still some votes to be counted and I respect that process,” Fischer said in an email declaring victory. “However, when all is said and done I fully expect to be officially declared the winner.”
County boards of elections must complete official canvassing no later than Nov. 29, according to state officials.
Final results within a quarter of a percentage point would trigger an automatic recount.
Republican Pat DeWine, son of the state attorney general, captured the court’s second open seat. Two of six Republicans on the 7-member court reached mandatory age limits and must retire.
The Associated Press contributed reporting.
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