Trump says Ohio governor’s race will be ‘hotly contested’ after DeWine acknowledges Biden win

President Trump on Monday swiped at Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) after DeWine recognized Joe Biden as president-elect and said it was time for a transition to the next administration to begin.

“Who will be running for Governor of the Great State of Ohio? Will be hotly contested!” Trump tweeted.

Who will be running for Governor of the Great State of Ohio? Will be hotly contested!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2020

The president backed DeWine during his 2018 gubernatorial campaign. The former U.S. senator for Ohio will not be up for reelection for governor until 2022. He has received high marks for his coronavirus response, and it’s unclear if another Republican candidate would challenge an incumbent governor.

DeWine has been among the handful of prominent Republican officials who in recent days have acknowledged Biden as president-elect, even as Trump refuses to concede and spreads misleading or inaccurate claims about the election.

“The president has every right to go into court, every right to bring any kind of evidence that he has. And no one should begrudge him that or say that there is anything irregular about that,” DeWine said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

“On the other hand, it’s clear that, certainly, based on what we know now, that Joe Biden is the president-elect,” DeWine continued. “And that transition, for the country’s sake, it’s important for a normal transition to start through.”

The General Services Administration has yet to ascertain that Biden is president-elect, blocking official resources for the incoming administration to transition into government. Several top administration officials have also refused to acknowledge that Biden is president-elect, with Trump falsely claiming on Sunday night and Monday: “I won the election.”