DARKE COUNTY — Issues and primary races at both the state and local level were decided as voters cast their ballots in Tuesday night’s election.

Governor

Richard Cordray won the Democratic nomination for governor, taking home about 62 percent of the vote. Dennis Kucinich came in a distant second with about 23 percent. Mike DeWine, meanwhile, won the Republican nomination by a more narrow margin, bringing home about 60 percent of the vote to Mary Taylor’s 40. John Kasich was unable to run again because of term limits.

U.S. House of Representatives, 8th District

Dr. Vanessa Enoch won the Democratic nod in the 8th District with about 58 percent, beating out her closest competitor by more than 8,000 votes. Enoch and other 8th District candidates spoke in Darke County recently at the local Democratic Party gala, as well as at a candidates’ night event hosted by the League of Women Voters. Enoch spoke about the importance of promoting women’s issues in Washington.

“If you don’t have a seat at the table, your issues aren’t on the agenda,” Enoch said at the Democratic gala in April.

Enoch’s Republican challenger for the 8th District Congressional seat in November will be incumbent Warren Davidson. The 8th District encompasses Darke, Miami, Clark, Preble and Butler counties, as well as a portion of Mercer County.

U.S. Senate

Jim Renacci won the Republican primary with 47 percent of the vote. Renacci will face Democratic incumbent Sherrod Brown in November. Renacci has been described as President Donald Trump’s hand-picked candidate for the Senate seat.

Ohio House of Representatives, 80th District

Jena Powell won the 80th district primary with more than 49 percent of the vote with her closest challenger taking home about 20 percent. Powell and other candidates also spoke at last month’s candidates’ night event. Powell, like her colleagues, came out strongly in support of Second Amendment rights and also said she’s strongly against corporate regulation, saying it was difficult to run a business in Ohio because of such laws.

The 80th District comprises Miami and the southern portion of Darke County. There was no Democratic challenger for the seat.

Ohio House of Representatives, 84th District

In the 84th District primary, meanwhile, Susan Manchester won by a narrow margin, beating her two Republican challengers by 4 to 5 percent. Democrat Joe Monbeck will challenge Manchester for the seat in November.

“Thank you so much to everyone who was involved in this campaign,” Manchester said Wednesday morning. “To folks who shared a Facebook post, put a sign in their yard, and voted… you all made this happen, and I couldn’t have done it without you. I’m excited to work with you and advocate for the 84th House District in Columbus! Your voice is my priority.”

The 84th District is comprised of northern Darke and Mercer counties, as well as portions of Shelby and Auglaize counties.

Darke County Commissioner

Incumbent Mike Stegall won the primary with 51 percent of the vote, narrowly beating challenger John Kennedy.

“I’m very happy the people of Darke County have nominated me to run for my third and final term,” Stegall said. “I’m tickled to do it four more years and help continue the positive direction we’re headed.”

Issues

Ohio Issue 1 was approved with strong bipartisan support, winning about 75 percent of the vote. Issue 1 will create a new, bipartisan process for redrawing district boundaries, hopefully preventing the results of such measures from clearly favoring one party over another. Majority parties in a number of states have been accused of gerrymandering, or deliberately redrawing district boundaries to favor their own interests, in recent years with Ohio often being accused of being one of the most gerrymandered states in the union.

Locally, the renewal of a one-mill property tax levy to support Mississinawa Valley Schools was approved with 56 percent of the vote. The current measure will renew the levy for another five years.

An issue permitting the sale of beer, wine and mixed beverages in Greenville Township on Sundays passed with 64 percent of the vote while similar measures permitting the sale of spirituous liquor and the sale of wine, mixed beverages and spirituous liquor on Sundays, in Washington Township passed with 81 and 76 percent, respectively.