Mary Jo Kilroy Wins Close Race for Congress

Democrat defeats Stivers in Ohio’s 15th Congressional District

BY JAMES NASH –THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH 

A jubilant Mary Jo Kilroy celebrates her victory with supporters outside the Franklin County Board of Elections. She won the seat by 2,311 votes, more than the 0.5 percent margin that would trigger a recount. Mary Jo Kilroy is headed to Washington as the first Democrat to represent any part of Franklin County in a generation.

Kilroy, a Franklin County commissioner who narrowly lost her first race for Congress two years ago, eked out a small but convincing victory over Republican state Sen. Steve Stivers in her second election cliffhanger, according to results released tonight. Kilroy defeated Stivers by 2,311 votes out of more than 304,000 cast, a margin high enough to avoid a recount. (the election was certified on December 6, 2008)

The outcome had been stalled by legal battles over about 1,000 flawed provisional ballots that Stivers supporters had wanted to throw out. Although the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in Stivers’ favor, the remaining provisional ballots clinched Kilroy’s victory. The Franklin County Board of Elections worked over the weekend to count the provisional ballots, which are cast by voters whose eligibility to vote is in question.

To read the entire article: 

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/12/07/election.html?sid=101

Mary Jo’s campaign website: http://www.kilroyforcongress.com/2008/1/index.php