Ohio Senate District 1 race close

FINDLAY — Early returns Tuesday showed Craig Riedel leading in the Republican primary for Ohio's 1st Senate District, according to unofficial results from the Ohio Secretary of State's Office. Riedel had 22,165 votes statewide, ahead of James M. Hoops with 21,309, based on the 11 p.m. totals. All vote totals are unofficial and include absentee ballots. In Hancock County, Riedel led with 4,781 votes, followed by Hoops with 3,442, according to the Hancock County Board of Elections. A total of 8,223 ballots were cast in the county's Republican primary for the 1st Senate District. As of 11 p.m., no projection had been made in the race. Statewide, Riedel held 50.98% to Hoops' 49.02%, with 43,474 votes counted at that point. As of 11 p.m., the Ohio Secretary of State's Office reported that 92.32% of Election Day precincts statewide had reported. That margin — 1.96% — is outside Ohio's automatic recount threshold. Ohio's 1st Senate District includes all of Hancock, Hardin, Putnam, Henry, Williams, Defiance, Paulding and Van Wert counties, along with portions of Fulton, Logan and Auglaize counties.