Ohio

State Highlights

The defeat of Gov. Ted Strickland by John Kasich, a Republican, was one of the most painful outcomes of the election for Democrats and President Obama, who campaigned repeatedly in Ohio, as did Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and former President Bill Clinton.

The ouster of 5 of the 10 Democrats serving in Ohio’s 18-member Congressional delegation also caused Democrats plenty of heartburn.

But a string of other local Republican victories in the state could hurt Democrats for years to come.

Republicans defeated Democrats in all major races for statewide office, putting them in control of the once-a-decade redrawing of Ohio’s legislative and Congressional districts, scheduled to begin next year.

The five member board that draws Ohio’s district boundaries — with the clout to gerrymander them to favor the party in power — includes the governor, secretary of state, auditor, and a legislator from each party. Following Tuesday’s vote, four of the officeholders wielding that powerful pen will be Republicans.

And there was more heartburn on the horizon for Democrats. The Republican who won Ohio’s race for attorney general, Mike DeWine, pledged during the campaign to join other states in suing to block Mr. Obama’s health care overhaul.

Mr. DeWine defeated Richard Cordray, the populist Democratic attorney general who had successfully filed a string of lawsuits against Wall Street powerhouses, wresting some $2 billion from global financial firms and subprime lenders on behalf of Ohio taxpayers.

In Ohio’s Senate race, Rob Portman, a former Republican congressman and United States trade representative in the second Bush administration, defeated Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, a Democrat.

The retirement of Senator George V. Voinovich, a Republican, left the seat open.

Ohio has lost 400,000 jobs since Mr. Strickland won election in 2006, and the dismal economy tilted the environment in favor of Mr. Kasich and other Republicans. Mr. Kasich served in Congress from 1982 through 2000. During the past decade, Mr. Kasich worked in an Ohio office of Lehman Brothers and also for the Fox News Channel.

Both candidates made Mr. Obama an issue — Mr. Strickland by supporting the health care overhaul and other administration policies, and Mr. Kasich by attacking them. Mr. Kasich also proposed phasing out Ohio’s income tax.

SAM DILLON