Balderson to serve another term in Washington, D.C.

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Congressman Troy Balderson will continue to represent Ohio’s 12th Congressional District after winning reelection with a comfortable victory Tuesday. Balderson, a Republican, defeated Democratic newcomer and Delaware native Alaina Shearer by nearly 58,000 votes across the district. Libertarian candidate John Stewart received 12,495 votes, just under 3% of the total votes cast in the district.

In Delaware County, Balderson received 56.6% of the 121,814 votes cast. Aside from Franklin County, which she won handily with 58% of the vote, Shearer had her best performance in her home county, receiving nearly 41% of the votes.

Following his win, Balderson credited his staff for the work put in over the past two years to get to reelection, adding that a campaign that was driven by his track record ultimately won the day.

“We’ve been working for this for two years,” Balderson told The Gazette. “Representing this district, I have a staff circled around me that is absolutely amazing, and we knew we were there for the constituents of the 12th Congressional District all the way through. As we did this campaign, it was about results versus rhetoric, and that’s what we focused on. And we’ll continue to do that.

“We ran a very clean campaign, a very positive campaign, and I am proud of that. My team is proud of that, and we accomplished what we wanted to accomplish.”

Asked about the sizeable margin with which he carried the vote, Balderson said it was evident that the support he received from his constituents extended past party lines.

“When you have a margin as we had, look, a lot of Democrats voted for me, too, and a lot of Independents. So that says something, and that goes back to exactly what we ran on, and that’s results. We did over a thousand tours and meetings. We were out there, and I love what I do. I want to be there, and I want to have access to people in the district.”

In a Facebook video posted Tuesday evening, Shearer shared in the disappointment of her supporters, saying, “Everything was on the ballot in this race. Corporations versus Americans, COVID response and relief versus ignoring the pandemic along with science, affordable health care versus insurmountable bills, and equality and justice versus hate. But still, Congressman Balderson won this race.”

Shearer said she knew the race would be a steep hill to climb, given “the way this district is gerrymandered, not because of who we are as Ohioans,” and that she did not feel as if Balderson won the seat fairly.

“His extremely far-right practices and views do not represent a majority of us in this district,” Shearer said. “I know this because I know my neighbors. He won because he and the Ohio Republican Party have been cheating the system with their gerrymandered lines for years. He won because he rigged the system so that he could, and where I come from, there is no honor in winning that way.

“So while he will return to Washington and undoubtedly continue to ignore his constituents, take money from corporate PACs, and continue to vote against our best interest. He will also go back to Washington knowing that we came close to victory. We ran a damn good race and one that I am so incredibly proud of. We did this together, in the midst of a pandemic, and in spite of the odds, we came close …,” she added.

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By Dillon Davis

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Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on Twitter @DillonDavis56.

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