The 2010 Ohio gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic Governor Ted Strickland ran for re-election to a second term as governor and was opposed by former U.S. Representative John Kasich; both Strickland and Kasich won their respective primaries uncontested. The race between the two major candidates was prolonged and brutal, with both candidates employing various campaign surrogates to bolster their campaigns. Ultimately, Kasich narrowly defeated Strickland in one of Ohio's closest gubernatorial elections in history. This was the first election since 1946 in which an incumbent Democratic Ohio governor lost re-election to someone other than Jim Rhodes.