Election Results LIVE: What will happen in Ohio?

Impact

Update 11:15

Obama is projected to win Ohio. With that state in the bag, Obama will win the presidency

Ohio will be within a point; Virginia will be within a point or two; Florida will be within 10,000 voters

Update 10:15pm

So....have ANY Republicans won a senator state yet?

Update 10pm

Lake County, Ohio just called for Romney. This is a huge deal because it encompasses most of the suburbs of Cleveland. This will help to counterbalance the predominatly Blue cities. 

Update 9:20

Updates on some of the key local races in Ohio:

16th District in Ohio pits 2 incumbents against each other. Democrat Betty Sutton is leading 53% to Republican Jim Renacci's 47% 

Incumbent Sherrod Brown is leading 54% to Josh Mandel's 42% in the Ohio Senate Race

Update 9;15

Just called PA for Obama....

Update 9:15

Ohio is 55% for Obama and 44% for Romney, with 29% reporting 

Most counties in Florida's panhandle have yet to be called. This is a good sign for romney, because the Panhandle typically goes Republican.

Update 8:47

Closed Polling States:

Alabama (9) Closed * 1% 44%3,270 55%4,022 Washington D.C. (3) Closed * 0% 0%0 0%0 Illinois (20) Closed * 7% 72%277,628 26%101,074 Indiana (11) Closed * 49% 42%567,046 56%763,085 Virginia (13) Closed * 34% 44%584,687 54%717,654 West Virginia (5) Closed * 0% 0%0 0%0 Kentucky (8) Closed * 74% 40%539,687 59%793,731 Oklahoma (7) Closed * 5% 32%23,107 68%50,084 Maine (4) Closed * 1% 55%2,071 43%1,625 Maryland (10) Closed * 10% 73%191,415 25%66,438 Massachusetts (11) Closed * 5% 59%91,874 40%62,569 Georgia (16) Closed * 22% 41%347,631 58%494,146 Ohio (18) Closed * 22% 57%764,894 41%553,820 Florida (29) Closed * 62% 50%2,773,192 49%2,675,653 North Carolina (15) Closed * 59% 49%1,336,176 50%1,347,401 Delaware (3) Closed * 33% 60%81,101 39%52,998 Mississippi (6) Closed * 1% 29%321 70%786 Connecticut (7) Closed * 5% 63%48,106 36%27,300 Missouri (10) Closed * 1% 37%4,081 61%6,816 Rhode Island (4) Closed * 7% 56%18,736 41%13,752 New Jersey (14) Closed * 1% 53%11,783 45%9,967 South Carolina (9) Closed * 17% 46%151,076 53%174,548 New Hampshire (4) Closed * 7% 61%32,456 38%20,050 Arkansas (6) Closed * 4% 32%13,685 67%28,880 Vermont (3) Closed * 15% 67%32,797 32%15,663 Pennsylvania (20) Closed * 1% 54%9,010 44%7,373 Tennessee (11) Closed * 25% 38%249,358 61%397,858

Update 8:40

Update 7:30

Lucky us, this is the one time a year that Ohio gets to feel special. 

So the question is, what will happen in Ohio tonight? Voter registration and turnout are key this time around:

According to the Wall Street Journal, voter registration is down 6.2% since 2008 for firmly Democratic Counties (like Cuyahoga and Franklin), down 4.2% for swing counties, and up 0.1% in solidly Republican counties. In a race where turnout means anything, the reduced Democratic numbers since the 2008 Presidential Election could make a difference to Romney's chances.

About 1.8 million of the state’s 7.8 million voters cast early votes  According to Newmax, 

"21.7 percent of voters in Democratic-leaning Ohio counties voted early in this election, compared to 21.3 percent of voters who cast early ballots in Republican-leaning counties."

This means that Republican enthusiasm is way up from 2008 levels, where only 19.1% of voters in Republican counties voted early, compared to 24.8% in Democratic counties.

Update 7:20 

How do you know what to watch for? This chart from the Wall Street Journal explains that each candidate can more or less count on certain states ahead of time. The critical swing states you keep hearing about are the ones that could still provide some of the precious electoral votes needed to get to the crucial 270.

Sometimes, the election could even come down to specific counties within swing states

Update 7:13 Romney Leads 

The polls have closed in Indiana, Kentucky, and Vermont. With 11 electoral votes, 58% of Indiana voters went for Mitt Romney.

In Kentucky (8 electoral votes) Romney is leading with 60% of the vote

In Vermont, polls have just closed. No votes have been reported, but it is a solidly Blue state.  

All eyes will be on the Buckeye State this Tuesday. With 18 electoral votes and a history of choosing the next president, Ohio is a must-win for each candidate. Here are a few quick facts to keep in mind as we follow the election returns:

Swing states. 11 are now qualified as swing states, for a total of 146 electoral votes. With that many votes in play, its nearly impossible to predict who will win the presidential election. Ohio. This state has swung for the President in the last 10 elections. No Republican has ever won the White House without winning Ohio. As of Sunday, Obama was leading Romney by 2.8 points, according to the Real Clear Politics Average. The numbers have been tight over the past few weeks, however; and much will depend upon voter turnout.  Ohio's 16th District. Due to the last census and redistricting, this race pits two incumbent members of congress against each other: Democrat Betty Sutton and Republican Jim Renacci. In a tight race, the fate of this demographically diverse district will give a good snapshot of overall political feeling across Ohio.  Senate Race. Real Clear Politics has the race for Ohio Senate seat between Sherrod Brown and Josh Mandel as a tossup. 

PolicyMic will be covering the 2012 election from the state of Ohio live. For live updates, bookmark and refresh this page.