Jordanne Semper-Scott
Contributing Writer
The results are in for multiple elections in Wayne County, with unofficial results now available on the board of elections website. The Wayne County board of elections will certify official election results next week on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
Out of over 70,000 voters, Wayne County saw approximately 75% voter turnout, with just over 53,000 voters taking to the polls or mailing in their votes.
The next state representative for the 77th district of Ohio will be Meredith Craig, representing the Republican Party. Craig ran against Democratic candidate Mark Gooch ’90, winning State Representative for the 77th District by 35,032 votes. Gooch won 15,534 votes. There were no unresolved write-in candidates for the 77th District.
Both Craig and Gooch are Wooster natives. Per her campaign website, Craig worked for the Ohio Department of Insurance as Assistant Director of Government Affairs for six years. Her campaign focused on economic growth for working-class families, expanding access to healthcare (including mental health services) and supporting small businesses in Wayne County.
Gooch is a library consultant and collection management & discovery services librarian at The College of Wooster. Gooch ran his campaign on a platform advocating for affordable healthcare, support for public education and providing equitable resources for working-class families and small businesses in the district. In 2022, he previously ran in the general elections for Ohio House of Representatives District 77 against Republican candidate Scott Wiggam but was unsuccessful.
Current Representative to Congress and Republican candidate Max Miller won reelection for the 7th Congressional District of Ohio, which included Wayne County. Both Democrat Matt Diemer and Independent party member Dennis J. Kucinich — the mayor of Cleveland from 1977-1979 — trailed behind Miller.
Republicans Matt Martin and David E. McMillen were elected as the Wayne County Commissioners. Running against Democrat Karla Demali, Martin won with 35,401 votes. McMillen, unopposed, won with 39,515 votes. Unopposed Republican candidate Angela Wypasek was reelected as prosecutor for Wayne County with 39,420 votes.
Republican Thomas Ballinger ran unopposed and was reelected as Wayne County Sheriff. Republican Jane Carmichael won the spot of Wayne County Recorder and Republican Melissa Koch was reelected as Wayne County Treasurer. Republican Russell Robertson was elected as Wayne County Auditor and Republican Scott A. Miller won Wayne County Engineer. Republican Amy Jolliff was elected as Wayne County Coroner.
Republican Scott Wiggam was elected as Wayne County Clerk of Courts with 34,693 votes. There are 70,625 registered voters in Wayne County. 53,087 (75.17%) voted, according to the Wayne County Board of Elections. Wayne County residents voted against a countywide $500,000 levy for the Wayne County Park District — 28,568 votes against 20,197 votes.
