Rep. Anthony Gonzalez Projected To Win Re-election In Ohio 16th

STRONGSVILLE, OH — Rep. Anthony Gonzalez is projected to win re-election in Ohio's 16th Congressional District.

Gonzalez was running against Democratic challenger Aaron Paul Godfrey to be representative. The district traditionally leans Republican, a tradition not bucked in 2020.

Gonzalez was first elected to office in 2018. He is a former Ohio State football player. Godfrey was a physicist from Westlake.

By 10:30 p.m., the New York Times and the Associated Press had both called the race for Gonzalez. Gonzalez's re-election drew praise from former NFL punter and current radio host Pat McAffee.

"This dude Anthony Gonzalez was a first round draft pick in the NFL...now, he’s been elected to his second term in Congress," McAffee said on Twitter. "He was an incredibly cool teammate and wildly smart. Thanks for explaining civics to us today on the show and congratulations."

Patch will update this story as results are tallied on Nov. 3.

Gonzalez: 179,565

Godfrey: 115,339

Check back here when polls close for links to our live updating results from election night.

To make sure you don’t miss out on the latest from election night, subscribe to our free real-time news alerts for the most up to date results and news.

Election Day

Polls opened at 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 3 and closed at 7:30 p.m.

Many polling sites reported long lines at various points throughout the day, indicating voter turnout was still strong despite an unprecedented number of early votes.

Early Voting During COVID-19

With the pandemic threatening the lives and well-being of Ohioans, there was an unprecedented surge of early voting (both in-person and via absentee ballots).

Early voting for the upcoming general election began Oct. 6 in Ohio. Early in-person voting ended on Nov. 2, one day prior to the general election.

Secretary of State Frank LaRose said 3.4 million early votes were cast in Ohio, shattering all previous records in the state.

"Inspiring. There’s no other word for it,” LaRose said.

Election officials can begin scanning absentee ballots as they are received, but those votes are not tabulated until the polls close at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 3.