Stivers hangs on to small lead

Steve Stivers has a 143-vote lead over Mary Jo Kilroy in the race for the 15th Congressional District.

Stivers' (R-Columbus) campaign announced Wednesday night that after paper ballots were counted by the Franklin Co. Board of Elections that his lead has shrunk from previously being 321 votes.

Press secretary Rob Nichols spun the development positively in a statement.

"The Stivers for Congress campaign is grateful to have received the most votes on Election Night, and we are happy that twenty-four hours later and after fifteen thousand additional ballots were counted, we continue to have a triple digit lead in this race," he said.

Ohio Democratic Party chair Chris Redfern said Kilroy will win the race because of incoming returns from Franklin County. As evidence to support his case, Redfern pointed to Democratc David Robinson beating U.S. Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-Westerville) in Franklin County thus far by about 7,000 votes. Tiberi won reelection nonetheless. 

Still to be counted for the 15th race are thousands of provisional ballots, absentee ballots postmarked by the time polls closed on Election Day and absentee ballots that have errors waiting for correction. All of these must be counted by Friday, Nov. 14.