Ted Strickland has lost the governor's seat. (Creative Commons)

Just 24 hours before Election Day, Gov. Ted Strickland and Kasich were neck-and-neck in the polls.

Strickland, a Democrat, was polling well behind Kasich initially, but began steadily climbing in the polls leading up to Election Day. It seems he didn't quite complete that climb, however - Kasich finished with 49.3 percent of the vote, to Strickland's 46.8 percent, with 98 percent of precincts reporting.

Strickland used his support of President Obama as a campaign strategy. Strickland was very vocal about his support of President Obama, saying, “I don’t think you win elections by running away from your friends.”

This support was returned by President Obama, who recognized Strickland’s campaign in Ohio as a crucial one. Obama was well aware of the opportunities offered by this swing-state, and even visited the state eleven times during the busy election time.

Kasich, on the other hand, is a well-respected Congressman who chaired the budget committee that produced the country’s last balanced budget. The main thing working against Kasich was his recent employment with Lehman Brothers from 2001-2008. Strickland did not spare this information about Kasich during debates, and was highly critical of Kasich’s ties to the bank whose collapse precipitated the collapse of the financial system.