George Voinovich - Governorship

Governorship

In 1990, Voinovich was nominated by the Republicans to replace Governor Richard F. Celeste, a Democrat who was barred from running for a third consecutive term. In that race, Voinovich who learned from his defeat in the 1988 Senate race defeated Anthony J. Celebrezze Jr. easily in what was considered a close to faultless campaign.

During his first four years he pulled Ohio out of a $1 1/2 billion deficit and was a national leader in welfare reform and eliminating unfunded mandates. In 1991 Voinovich served as the Chairman of the Midwestern Governors Association. In 1994, Voinovich was re-elected to the governorship, defeating Democrat Robert L. Burch Jr. in a massive landslide. Voinovich won with the largest margin, 72% of the vote, of any governor up for election that year and it was the largest margin of victory for any Ohio Governor in the 20th Century. In addition, his running mate Nancy Hollister was the first woman lieutenant governor and appointed Kenneth Blackwell to state treasurer and he became the first African-American to hold state office.

Voinovich's tenure as governor saw Ohio's unemployment rate fall to a 25-year low, the state created more than 500,000 new jobs, the Medicaid growth rate had been cut by more than two-thirds and enrollment in welfare had been cut in half. Under Voinovich, Ohio was ranked #1 in the nation by Site Selection Magazine for new and expanding business facilities.