WOSU: Ohio fails to pick president for first time since 1960
Political scientist David Niven says Ohio no longer mirrors the overall national vote.
Since 1960 Ohio had been a bellwether for predicting presidential election outcomes, but that’s no longer the case, UC political scientist David Niven tells WOSU radio in a post-election interview.
In the 2020 election Ohio went for Trump, but Biden is the projected winner.
“Not only shouldn’t we have been a toss-up, we weren’t anywhere close to being one," Niven says. "And the future battle for the presidencies is highly unlikely to run through Ohio."
Along with Trump's wins in 2016 and 2020, Ohio has seen Republicans sweep its statewide executive races – governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer and auditor – twice since 2010.
Listen to the entire interview on WOSU.
Featured image at top of voting sticker. Photo/Phillip Goldsberry/Unsplash.
Impact Lives Here
The University of Cincinnati is leading public urban universities into a new era of innovation and impact. Our faculty, staff and students are saving lives, changing outcomes and bending the future in our city's direction. Next Lives Here.
Related Stories
UC professor curates Little Women exhibition to accompany Playhouse in the Park production
February 16, 2026
The exhibition traces how artists shaped the visual legacy of Alcott’s beloved novel.
Love, Emma makes functional fashionable for individuals with disabilities
February 13, 2026
Emma Biros, an alum of UC's Special Education program, never wanted to be a teacher. Rather, she aimed to make the world a better place for people living with disabilities. She fell in love with transition work while working in CECH's IDD Education Center, which led her to a position with a local non-profit, Genesis at Work. Today, Biros is launching her Love, Emma line of adaptive clothing designed to make functional fashionable for young women with disabilities.
UC Alumni Association names top alumni award winners
February 12, 2026
The University of Cincinnati Alumni Association has announced this year’s recipients of its highest honors for UC alumni. The 2026 honorees include: Vinod K. Dham, CEAS ’77; Thomas D. Cassady, A&S ’76, Hon ’19; Padma Chebrolu, CECH ’92; Ryan C. Marable, PharmD, Phar ’13. Each year, the UC Alumni Association (UCAA) honors a select few of its more than 360,000 alumni based on their career accomplishments and contributions to the university and community, recognizing them during Alumni Week festivities each spring.