On September 26, Republican Governor John Kasich signed into law Ohio’s new congressional redistricting plan. The plan, released on September 13, passed the Republican-controlled Assembly and Senate earlier in the week, but its ultimate approval will likely be in the hands of voters through a proposed ballot referendum in November 2012. Overall, the plan secures the Republicans’ gains in the 2010 election, with very few districts being competitive. Ohio lost two congressional seats in the reapportionment process, guaranteeing that incumbents would see significant shifts in their constituencies and that some districts would be combined or eliminated.

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