Ohio's 12th congressional district


Ohio's 12th congressional district is a United States congressional district in central Ohio, covering Delaware County, Morrow County, and Licking County, along with parts of Franklin, Marion, Muskingum, and Richland counties. The district includes communities north and east of Columbus including Zanesville, Mansfield, and Dublin. It is currently represented by Troy Balderson, a member of the Republican Party. Balderson took office following a special election held on August 7, 2018, to replace Rep. Pat Tiberi, who had resigned on January 15, 2018. Balderson was then re-elected in the 2018 general election two months later.
From 2003 to 2013 the district included eastern Columbus, including most of its heavily African-American neighborhoods. The district also took in most of its northern suburbs, including Westerville. It was one of two districts that split the state's capital city, the other being the 15th District. For most of the time from the 1980s to the 2000s, it was considered to be less Republican than the 15th, in part due to its large black population. However, redistricting after the 2010 census drew nearly all of the 15th's black constituents into the 3rd District, while the 15th was pushed into more exurban and Republican areas north and east of the capital.
It has been in Republican hands since 1920, except for an eight-year stretch in the 1930s and a two-year term in 1980 where the Democratic Party held the seat; in both instances the Democratic incumbent was later defeated by a GOP challenger. In the 2004 presidential election George W. Bush narrowly won the district against John Kerry, 51% to 49%. However, in the 2008 presidential election, Democratic candidate Barack Obama won the 12th district by a margin of 53% to 46%. After the 2011 redistricting cycle, the district has since been won in larger margins by Republican presidential candidates.
In the 2018 special election, Balderson was endorsed by prominent Republicans including President Donald Trump, Governor of Ohio John Kasich, and former Rep. Tiberi. The Democratic candidate was Danny O’Connor. The winner was not immediately clear following the unexpectedly competitive August 7 election. Only on August 24 was Balderson officially declared the winner of the special election, which witnessed a significant swing away from the Republican Party as Balderson won with a margin of less than 1%, while fellow Republican Trump had carried the district by 11% in the 2016 presidential election.

Election results from presidential races

List of members representing the district

Recent election results

The following chart shows historic election results.
YearDemocraticRepublicanOther
1920Arthur P. Lamneck: 43,845√ John C. Speaks: 62,247Enoch B. Eubanks: 1,481
1922H. Sage Valentine: 37,875√ John C. Speaks : 47,265William Garminden : 632
1924Lowry F. Sater: 41,291√ John C. Speaks : 58,705
1926H. S. Atkinson: 31,724√ John C. Speaks : 41,119
1928Carl H. Valentine: 50,216√ John C. Speaks : 82,574
1930√ Arthur P. Lamneck: 59,330John C. Speaks : 43,840
1932√ Arthur P. Lamneck : 63,135John C. Speaks: 62,704
1934√ Arthur P. Lamneck : 63,396John C. Speaks: 50,386
1936√ Arthur P. Lamneck : 88,222Grant P. Ward: 64,766
1938Arthur P. Lamneck : 62,026√ Jonn M. Vorys: 64,409
1940Arthur P. Lamneck: 87,115√ John M. Vorys : 91,767
1942Arthur P. Lamneck: 40,290√ John M. Vorys : 56,558
1944Forrest F. Smith: 82,503√ John M. Vorys : 97,856
1946Arthur P. Lamneck: 45,779√ John M. Vorys : 74,691
1948Robert M. Draper: 87,770√ John M. Vorys : 95,575
1950John W. Guy: 65,860√ John M. Vorys : 117,396
1952George T. Tarbutton: 81,665√ John M. Vorys : 134,693
1954Jacob F. Myers: 59,210√ John M. Vorys : 94,585
1956Walter J. Shapter Jr.: 79,597√ John M. Vorys : 128,682
1958Walter J. Shapter Jr.: 84,470√ Samuel L. Devine: 100,684
1960Richard E. Liming: 90,894√ Samuel L. Devine : 140,236
1962Paul D. Cassidy: 60,563√ Samuel L. Devine : 130,316
1964Robert L. Van Heyde: 118,299√ Samuel L. Devine : 146,971
1966Bob Shamansky: 39,140√ Samuel L. Devine : 70,102
1968Herbert J. Pfeifer: 51,202√ Samuel L. Devine : 106,664
1970James W. Goodrich: 60,538√ Samuel L. Devine : 82,486
1972James W. Goodrich: 81,074√ Samuel L. Devine : 103,655
1974Francine Ryan: 70,818√ Samuel L. Devine : 73,303
1976Francine Ryan: 89,424√ Samuel L. Devine : 90,987William Roger "Bill" Moss : 15,429
1978James L. Baumann: 61,698√ Samuel L. Devine : 81,573
1980√ Bob Shamansky: 108,690Samuel L. Devine : 98,110
1982Bob Shamansky : 82,753√ John Kasich: 88,335Russell A. Lewis : 3,939
1984Richard S. Sloan: 65,215√ John Kasich : 148,899
1986Timothy C. Jochim: 42,727√ John Kasich : 117,905
1988Mark P. Brown: 50,782√ John Kasich : 204,892
1990Mike Gelpi: 50,784√ John Kasich : 130,495
1992Bob Fitrakis: 68,761√ John Kasich : 170,297
1994Cynthia L. Ruccia: 57,294√ John Kasich : 114,608
1996Cynthia L. Ruccia: 78,762√ John Kasich : 151,667Barbara Ann Edelman : 7,005
1998Edward S. Brown: 60,694√ John Kasich : 124,197
2000Maryellen O'Shaughnessy: 115,432√ Pat Tiberi: 139,242Charles Ed Jordan: 1,566
Nick Hogan : 4,546
Gregory B. Richey : 2,600
2002Edward S. Brown: 64,707√ Pat Tiberi : 116,982
2004Edward S. Brown: 122,109√ Pat Tiberi : 198,912
2006Robert N. Shamansky: 126,573√ Pat Tiberi : 198,723
2008David Robinson: 152,234√ Pat Tiberi : 197,447Steven Linnabary : 10,707
2010Paula Brooks: 110,307√ Pat Tiberi : 150,163Travis Irvine : 8,710
2012Jim Reese: 134,614√ Pat Tiberi : 233,874
2014David Tibbs: 61,360√ Pat Tiberi : 150,573Bob Hart : 9,148
2016Ed Albertson: 112, 638√ Pat Tiberi : 251,266Joe Manchik : 13,474
Write-in: 156
2018 Danny O'Connor: 102,648√ Troy Balderson: 104,328Joe Manchik : 1,165
2018Danny O'Connor: 161,251√ Troy Balderson : 175,677Joe Manchik : 4,718
Write-in: 71

Historical district boundaries