No Republican presidential candidate has won the White House without carrying Ohio in the general election.
As of Sunday afternoon, an average of polls in Ohio finds that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump by just .2 points.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday that he believes Trump will carry his state in the election, “I think the President wins Ohio. I think it’s going to be a close vote. I think he wins by a couple points probably.”
Tapper noted Trump won the state by 8 points in 2016 and asked if DeWine’s prediction that the president would win the state by a couple of points should be a warning sign for his campaign.
DeWine responded, “Well, look, we’re in the midst of a pandemic. And this is a tough, tough time. And so you know, it’s gonna be closer. It’s not gonna be a blowout like it was in Ohio,” in 2016.
However, he said he believes Trump will do “exceedingly well in what has historically been a Democrat area, the Ohio valley, eastern Ohio.” He also said the president will do well in rural areas.
Watch the video below:
"I think the President wins Ohio. I think it's going to be a close vote. I think he wins by a couple points probably," Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine says.
— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) November 1, 2020
"We are in the midst of a pandemic and this is a tough, tough time. And so, you know, it's going to be closer" #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/s6q74lCWMP
As states expanded access to mail-in ballots due to the coronavirus pandemics, experts warned Americans that they should be prepared to not know the winner of the election on election day because of the time it will take to count the mail-in ballots.
However, DeWine said the state should be able to process enough of its early vote count and the ballots cast on election day to provide an idea of who will likely win the state.
He noted it is possible that as the early votes are reported, the results will favor Biden, and as the election day results are reported, the state will shift toward Trump.