More than a month after Election Day, the congressional race between Steve Stivers and Mary Jo Kilroy came to an end.
On Dec. 7, 2008 the Franklin County Board of Elections reached a decision and declared Kilroy the winner.
When the Lantern last reported on the status of the race on Nov. 13, Stivers was ahead by 393 votes with 20,000 to 30,000 votes left to be counted. Both sides remained optimistic and confident about their chances.
After these votes, which were provisional and overseas ballots, had been counted, Kilroy came out ahead by a mere 2,311 votes.
“These were obviously the results that we wanted and Mary Jo knows that she now has a difficult commitment to the people of central Ohio,” said Randy Borntrager, Kilroy’s chief of staff. “But she is excited to go to Washington.”
Kilroy, who was defeated two years ago by Republican candidate Deborah Pryce, is the first Democrat to represent Franklin County in Congress since 1982. Ohio now has 10 Democrats and eight Republicans in Washington. In the next session of Congress, Democrats will hold a majority with 79 seats in the House of Representatives.
However, party affiliation does not matter to Kilroy, Borntrager said.
“She plans on working with Republicans, Democrats and independents,” he said. “I think you’ll see her governing what she has campaigned.”
Kilroy’s opponent, Stivers, wishes her the best with her plans in Washington.
“I got the call about the results at home and I called Commissioner Kilory and wished her luck in Washington,” he said. “No matter what, I am proud of the results. You win some, you lose some.”
Regardless of the results, both Stivers and Kilroy are grateful to their supporters, especially those from the Ohio State campus.
“I was obviously happy with the fact that I received a lot of support,” Stivers said. “I really enjoyed meeting folks at OSU and students on campus. I look forward to meeting more people and making new friendships.”
OSU was a base for the Kilroy campaign as well, Borntrager said.
“We received a lot of support from the Ohio State student body,” he said. “A lot of energy came from OSU and we were happy to receive it. We will be eternally grateful for OSU.”
When the next session of Congress begins, Kilroy will head to Washington to begin her two-year term, while Stivers is unsure of what the future holds for him.
“It’s a little early to say,” he said. “I took December and January off and I’ll have to wait and see what’s right.”
There is one thing that remains important to Stivers, regardless of his future plans. “I will keep working towards making education affordable for college students,” he said.
Although both candidates have obvious differences, and their campaigns turned ugly at times, both agree on this issue. Mary Jo plans to work with President-elect Barack Obama to make sure college education is more affordable for the average student, Borntrager said.
“Students and faculty here at OSU should know that they have a representative who will put them first,” he said.
Megan Savage can be reached at [email protected].