The race for state representative of the 92nd District was easily won by Republican incumbent Jimmy Stewart despite Democratic challenger Pat Lang taking 49 percent of the vote in Athens County.
Lang received 12,932 votes to Stewart's 13,445 votes in the county.
District-wide, Stewart defeated Lang 30,414 to 21,218.
Stewart said he would continue to work for what is best for the district, which is composed of Athens, Meigs, Morgan and Washington counties.
I feel great
Stewart said. I sincerely want to thank all the folks who supported me including the many Democrats who supported me.
Lang, 27, based his campaign on the idea that change was needed in the Republican-dominated House. He said he was happy for Stewart and respects the re-elected state representative as a person.
Lang said he had no regrets about any decisions made during his campaign, and that Stewart's recognizable name and money were too much to overcome.
I feel good; I feel like we ran a strong campaign Lang said.
Lang said he plans to focus on his law practice in Athens after taking a few days off. He would consider running for office again should an opportunity present itself, though he has no immediate ambitions.
I want to thank Patrick for running a reasonably clean campaign and for raising the issues he did
Stewart said.
Stewart, 34, was the first state representative to be elected in the relatively new 92nd district, created in 2002.
During his first term, Stewart advocated small business growth to create jobs in Southeast Ohio. He is currently drafting a school funding reform bill to shift funding from local property taxes to income-related taxes.
Changes in school funding, as well as economic development in conjunction with Ohio University, continue to be long-term goals for the area, Stewart said.
For now, Stewart said he wants to focus on protecting services that are vital to Southeast Ohio, such as education and Medicaid.
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State Representative Jimmy Stewart, R-Athens, reacts to results for his campaign at the Athens County Republican Headquarters.
