DeWine Congratulates Biden, Notes Trump's Right To File 'Legal Actions'

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine released a statement congratulating Joe Biden on winning the election against President Donald Trump, also emphasizing the president's right to file legal actions and noting that election results aren't certified.

“I congratulate Vice-President Biden,” the Republican governor's statement read. “It would appear that President Trump's legal team will be filing legal actions. The President's lawyers have every right to present evidence in court on any legal issues or irregularities involving the election, and the courts are the proper place to hear evidence on these issues. When lawsuits have concluded and election results are certified, it is important for all Americans to honor the outcome.”

DeWine rightfully predicted that Trump would win Ohio, a battleground state, as he did in the 2016 election. He cast his prediction hours before the presidential debate in Cleveland on September 29 and again on Election Day (November 3). The governor also congratulated Trump after the September debate.

"I think it's going to be a very, very close race and I think the President squeaks it out," DeWine said last week. He continued later, “it's going to be a close race. The President won with a big margin last time. But I think he's going win this time. I think the intensity is there."

The Associated Press called Trump winning Ohio late on Election Night, though the national outcome remained too close to call at that time.

Though DeWine and others may have been satisfied with that outcome, others still hoped for a Biden win overall. Sen. Sherrod Brown said November 4 that he “was hoping for something very different in Ohio,” but that he was “confident…that Joe Biden is going to be the next president.”

The AP called Biden winning the election on Saturday (November 7), after Pennsylvania’s electoral college votes propelled the Scranton-born candidate past the needed 270 mark.

“With many legal challenges to vote counts still to come, it was premature and irresponsible for the news media to declare Biden the winner of the presidential election,” the Ohio Republican Party tweeted Monday (November 9). “The president has every right to bring legal challenges where he thinks fraud has occurred, & we support him!”

“If we do not take the possibility of fraudulent voting seriously, we risk setting a terrible precedent for future elections,” the party added in a separate tweet. “President @realDonaldTrump has every right to challenge vote counts where he thinks voter fraud may have occurred, and we stand with him.”

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