Republican holds narrow lead in high-stakes Ohio election that's still too close to call

Show Caption Hide Caption Voters weigh in on their picks for Ohio's 12th and whether President Trump played a role Voters weigh in on their picks for Ohio's 12th district. Did President Donald Trump play a role?

NEWARK - President Donald Trump's endorsed candidate appeared to eke out a win in an extremely tight central Ohio race in Ohio Tuesday – but it should have never been this close.

Trump's name wasn't on the ballot in the reliably Republican district, but his brand was. Trump repeatedly endorsed Republican state Sen. Troy Balderson over Democrat Danny O'Connor, a county elected official, to fill the remaining months of former U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi's term.

The race was still too close to call late Tuesday because of several thousand provisional and absentee ballots that needed to be counted, according to the Ohio Secretary of State. With all precincts counted, Balderson led O’Connor by 1,754 votes by about .9 percent.

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Trump flew into Ohio Saturday to campaign for Balderson in a crowded, overheated high school gymnasium. "(Balderson)'s really tough. He's really smart. He never stops working," Trump said of Balderson, a former Ironman race competitor. "It's Ohio's 12th district, and he's going to hopefully be here a long time."

The message was clear: a vote for Balderson was a vote for Trump.

“When I decided to go to Ohio for Troy Balderson, he was down in early voting 64 to 36,” Trump wrote on Twitter Tuesday night. “That was not good. After my speech on Saturday night, there was a big turn for the better. Now Troy wins a great victory during a very tough time of the year for voting. He will win BIG in Nov

And it seemed to work, according to unofficial results. With 100 percent of the vote in, Balderson led O'Connor 50.2 percent to 49.3 percent. The margin was just 1,754 votes.

The race had not been officially called by any news organizations, and O'Connor has not conceded.

Under Ohio law, an automatic recount would happen if the candidates were separated by .5 percent.”

Balderson relied on votes in Licking and Delaware counties to offset O'Connor's dominance in Franklin County's northern suburbs. In those areas, it might have been an endorsement from Gov. John Kasich, rather than Trump, that made the difference.

Balderson's l margins of victory came from rural parts of the district, including his home county of Muskingum.

With such a close race, the "blue wave" wasn't crushed – but it was dampened. Republicans proved they could hold on to a reliably GOP seat in the face of Democratic enthusiasm. It's an encouraging sign for GOP candidates headed into November elections where control of the U.S. House of Representatives – and the Republican agenda – will be in play.

But Tuesday night was more of a sigh of relief than a victory cry.

The district – which runs from Columbus' northern suburbs to affluent Delaware County and east to the foothills of Appalachia – has been represented by Republicans for decades. Before Tiberi, Gov. John Kasich held the seat, which has been redrawn to assure GOP dominance. Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats 2-to-1.

Despite this, O'Connor kept the race close.

Patricia Hughes, 61, of Newark, said she voted for O'Connor, in part, to stave off Trump.

"Absolutely," she said. "I wouldn't invite (Trump) to my home for dinner."

George Collmer, 72, of Marion, voted for Balderson to keep Trump's agenda intact.

“I think the country’s going a better way right now,” Collmer said.

President Trump loomed over the race and weighed heavily in some voters' decision Tuesdays.

After the nail-biter, O'Connor and Balderson will be back on the campaign trail tomorrow. They will face off again in November for the next two-year term. The electorate will be much easier to predict, and that bodes well for Balderson.

Kent Mallett, Sarah Volpenhein, and Christal Hayes contributed reporting.