The newly redrawn 94th District of Ohio re-elected Debbie Phillips for her third term in the Ohio House of Representatives.
Phillips, D-92, won 62 percent of the unofficial vote district-wide with 25,457 votes. The Republican challenger Charles Richter had 16,109 voters supporting him district-wide, or 37 percent of the vote, according to the Athens County Board of Elections.
“I really appreciate that people have faith in me,” Phillips said.
Richter declined to comment.
Phillips did even better in Athens County, where she won 72 percent of the vote with 16,532 voters supporting her. Richter won 28 percent of the Athens County unofficial vote with 6,285 votes, according to the Athens County Board of Elections.
The official vote will not be available for 10 days.
“It is really encouraging that I have that level of support (in Athens County),” Phillips said.
Phillips has served two terms in the Ohio House for the 92nd District, which was redrawn as the 94th District. Phillips is also a former 4th Ward Athens City councilwoman.
Phillips makes $60,584 a year.
Kathy Hecht, chairwoman of Athens County Democrats, said she is not surprised by Phillips’s success.
“(Phillips) is very popular here,” Hecht said. “She is the hardest working politician I know.”
Dylan Gustafson, Communication Chair for Ohio University College Republicans, said he knew Richter was in an uphill battle from the start.
“We could tell it wasn’t going good for (Richter) from the beginning,” Gustafson said.
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