The results of the primary races for the Ohio governor’s seat were

not surprising, but in different ways.

In the governor’s race, Democrats chose Rep. Ted Strickland over challenger Bryan Flannery to advance to the November election.

Flannery lost in a 20 to 80 percent split, receiving 131,740 votes to Strickland’s 514,718. Those results are with 10,030 of 11,285 precincts reporting.

Strickland, of Lisbon, formerly of Lucasville, is a former college professor and ordained minister. He has also served as a children’s home director and prison psychologist. He was first elected to the U.S. Congress in 1993-94 and then again in 1997, where he has represented Lawrence County and the rest of Ohio’s 6th District in the House of Representatives.

The result of the race was all but an afterthought in a primary race of which Strickland has had complete command.

“He’s been truly a representative of his constituents,” said Strickland’s county coordinator Mark McCown. “It comes down to the individual, and he’s got the characteristics for it, the honesty and the integrity.

“He’s a workhorse, and he’ll work tirelessly, not only for our region but for the state as a whole.”

In November, Strickland will face Secretary of State Ken Blackwell. That race was so close until Tuesday that either way the race went, it wouldn’t have been surprising.

Blackwell bested Attorney General Jim Petro in a hotly contested race that was a little too hard fought for Republican Clerk of Courts Les Boggs.

“I think it was a little more bitter than what I would have liked to have seen between the two Republicans,” Boggs said. “But I think either one of them would be good candidates.”

Blackwell is a former Cincinnati City Council member and previously served as an official at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He has also served as state treasurer. He was elected secretary of state in 1998.