John Kasich

The Associated Press reports:

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The state's new collective bargaining law was defeated Tuesday after an expensive union-backed campaign that pitted firefighters, police officers and teachers against the Republican establishment.

In a political blow to GOP Gov. John Kasich, voters handily rejected the law, which would have limited the bargaining abilities of 350,000 unionized public workers. With more than a quarter of the votes counted late Tuesday, 63 percent of votes were to reject the law.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said victory for unions was achieved among Democrats and Republicans in urban and rural counties.

"Ohio sent a message to every politician out there: Go in and make war on your employees rather than make jobs with your employees, and you do so at your own peril," he said.

In a statement posted online, Republican governor John Kasich said that while he "would have preferred a different outcome tonight," he respects the decision of the voters of Ohio. Here's more from Kasich:

Despite tonight’s outcome, it doesn’t change the fact that Ohio's ability to create a jobs-friendly climate is impacted by local governments' ability to reduce their costs. Just as Ohio had to get its fiscal house in order—and make tough choices to do it—local governments must as well. Ohio must find innovative ways to help local governments provide good services and good value.  According to the US Census, local government taxes increased 42 percent between 1999 and 2009, almost twice the rate of inflation. That’s an astonishing increase when, during the same period, Ohio lost more jobs than any other state except California and Michigan, population growth was flat, school test scores didn’t improve and personal income suffered.  We can do better and we will.

For more on the issue, read John McCormack's take here.

Speaking in Virginia this morning, Mitt Romney tried to clarify what he called “confusion” over his comments yesterday in Ohio.

Some of the most exciting races of the 2010 election cycle are taking place in the states. California, Texas, New York, and Ohio all feature important statewide races that will have repercussions in 2012 and beyond. A Republican victory in any one of these states is certain to launch a new GOP celebrity. And since the Democrats suffer from a weak bench, they're looking to the big states to highlight some new faces of their own. John Heilemann has a roundup of the campaigns here. Democrats lead in two, Republicans in one, and the other is a tossup.

Let's look at each.