DeWine forecasts Trump wins Ohio in ‘close vote’

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) predicted on Sunday that President Trump will win his state over Democratic nominee Joe Biden in a “close vote.”

“I think the president wins Ohio,” DeWine said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I think it’s going to be a close vote. I think he wins by a couple points probably.”

The governor said he expects the winner of the state to be known on election night, noting Ohio’s early vote numbers will be ready to process and likely will come in before its Election Day votes. 

“The first you’re gonna get are all the early votes,” he said. “They’re gonna come in probably before 8 o’clock, and you’re gonna see some big numbers there. And I think that will give us some indication on how Ohio’s going.”

Host Jake Tapper noted that the early vote results coming first could give the impression of a “blue mirage” of Democrats winning the state because more Democrats voted early than Republicans nationwide.

The president won Ohio by 8 percentage points in 2016, but DeWine and polls are predicting a closer race this year, prompting Tapper to ask if that’s a “red flag” for the Trump campaign.

“Well, look, we’re in the midst of a pandemic,” DeWine answered. “And this is a tough, tough time. And so you know, it’s gonna be closer. It’s not gonna be a blowout like it was in Ohio” in 2016.

“But the president is still going to do exceedingly well in what has historically been a Democrat area, the Ohio valley, eastern Ohio” as well as in “all the other rural counties.”

DeWine added that the Trump campaign’s “ground game” in Ohio appeared “better” than the Biden campaign’s.

“I think the President wins Ohio. I think it’s going to be a close vote. I think he wins by a couple points probably,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine says.

“We are in the midst of a pandemic and this is a tough, tough time. And so, you know, it’s going to be closer” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/s6q74lCWMP

— State of the Union (@CNNSotu) November 1, 2020

The RealClearPolitics average of polls over the last month in Ohio show Biden with a 0.2 percentage point lead over Trump, indicating the state is one to watch on election night.