Democrat Jessica Miranda leads incumbent GOP Rep. Jonathan Dever for House seat by 56 votes

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump effect: Ohio Senate and Governor races Comparing how Ohio counties voted in the 2018 midterm election to how they voted in the 2016 presidential election.

COLUMBUS – It came down to the final few absentee and provisional votes.

Democrat Jessica Miranda edged Republican state Rep. Jonathan Dever for an Ohio House seat by 56 votes, according to the official count by the Hamilton County Board of Elections released on Wednesday.

The slim margin will trigger an automatic recount on Nov. 30 before Miranda is officially declared the winner. Miranda trailed Dever after Election Night by 303 votes, a margin of 0.56 percent.

Miranda made up that gap among the 11,000 absentee and provisional ballots submitted countywide that the board of elections finished tallying on Wednesday. Voters submit provisional ballots when issues arise, such as a lack of identification, an address that doesn’t match the precinct, signatures that don’t match, and other anomalies.

Those ballots tend to break Democratic. The House race accounted for 1,400 of the 11,000 ballots counted after Election Night. That was all Miranda needed.

A grateful Miranda thanked the voters of the 28th House district Wednesday.

"Don't let anybody tell you your vote doesn't matter," Miranda said. "I'm so very glad the 28th district voters chose change."

Miranda's victory provided an exclamation point on the Democratic takeover of Hamilton County politics. It shows how blue the county has become. Miranda challenged Dever in 2016 but lost by more than 9,000 votes.

Democrats this election unseated the lone Republican on the Hamilton County Board of Commissioners and won two more judicial seats.

Democrats celebrated Miranda's apparent victory, even though a recount must still take place.

"I’ve seen a lot of recounts happen, and I have yet to see a recount change everything," said Caleb Faux, the executive director of the Hamilton County Democrats and member of the Board of Elections.

After all votes have been counted, @JessicaEMiranda now leads by 56 votes and has won Ohio House District 28 in Hamilton County! Congrats Jessica! @TheDLCC — Ohio House Dems (@OhioHouseDems) November 21, 2018

For Republicans, the final vote total was sad news the day before Thanksgiving.

Dever didn't immediately return a message for comment.

"It's surprising and disappointing," said Alex Triantafilou, chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party and member of the Board of Elections. "Jonathan Dever is a wonderful state representative. We will await to see what happens in the recount."

The district, Ohio's 28th, is one of the most competitive in the state. The Hamilton County district stretches from Madeira and Montgomery on the east to Forest Park and Greenhills on the west.

Democrat Connie Pillich, who just resigned as co-chair of the Hamilton County Democratic Party for a job in Washington, D.C., represented the district for five years before she ran for state treasurer in 2014.

In the end, Miranda's win doesn't affect the makeup of the Ohio House of Representatives dramatically. Republicans will retain their veto-proof majority in the chamber despite seats gained by some Democrats. The final breakdown will be 61-38.

Miranda said better funding for education will be a priority when she gets to Columbus.

"I knocked on 34,000 doors, and the biggest thing I heard folks saying was that they're tired of stagnant leadership," Miranda said. "They were angry things weren't getting done. I'm a leader that will go to Columbus and get things done."