A red wave swept over Ohio yesterday, with key Republican victories in the presidential and Senate contests and further success down ballot.

Why it matters: If there was any doubt before, the unofficial results cement Ohio as MAGA country.

State of play: Former President Trump won the state for a third time, with results showing a wider margin than his victories in 2016 and 2020.

• Republican Bernie Moreno won a bruising, expensive Senate race against incumbent Sherrod Brown, among the state's last remaining Democratic Party bastion.
• The GOP also won all three Ohio Supreme Court races and helped defeat Issue 1, the proposed constitutional amendment on redistricting reform. 

The intrigue: Trump's win here was seen as a foregone conclusion, but polls showed a razor-thin Senate race.

• Brown privately told donors he could win if Vice President Harris stayed within eight percentage points of Trump. 
• Brown's path to victory relied on convincing "split ticket" voters to go Republican for president but Democrat for Senate. Not enough did.

Zoom in: His margin of victory in Cuyahoga County and the state's urban counties couldn't help him overcome Moreno's dominance in the rest of the state.

• On the warmest-ever Nov. 5 in Cleveland history, nearly 70% of voters backed Brown. 
• But Cuyahoga County's 63% voter turnout was substantially less than in 2020 (71%) and 2016 (69%). Some provisional and absentee ballots are still outstanding.

What they're saying: Moreno touted "a new dawn of Republican leadership" at last night's victory party in Westlake.

• He said Republicans would advance "an American agenda, an agenda that says we are pro-immigration, but not pro-invasion."

What we're watching: How the overall presidential result will impact Trump running mate JD Vance's Senate seat.

• With the victory, his seat will become vacant for Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to fill. 

In just two months, Ohio Issue 1 went from overwhelming public support to getting rejected at the ballot box.

State of play: Issue 1 called for a new 15-member commission of five Democrats, five Republicans and five independents to draw and approve legislative districts.

• Ohioans opted to keep a system in place they approved last decade. 
• This involves a commission of seven elected officials, which adopted maps after the 2020 census that the Ohio Supreme Court ruled to be illegally gerrymandered to favor Republican candidates.

What they're saying: "Voters recognized that establishing an unelected, unaccountable 4th branch of government under Issue 1 was a very bad idea," Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman wrote in a statement.

The other side: "While tonight's result is not what we had hoped for, the strength of this movement and the dedication of those who stood for democracy cannot be diminished," wrote former Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, who pushed for Issue 1 with the group Citizens Not Politicians, in a statement.

Between the lines: A Bowling Green State University poll in September showed 60% of likely voters supported Issue 1 and just 20% disapproval.

• A contributing factor to the late swing may have been the ballot language, suggested BGSU poll director Robert Alexander. 
• Ballots stated that Issue 1 would "establish a new taxpayer-funded commission of appointees required to gerrymander" legislative boundaries. 
• The language was written by Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose, approved by a GOP-controlled Ohio Ballot Board and upheld by the GOP-leaning Ohio Supreme Court.

Cleveland voters overwhelmingly supported Issue 49, the new schools levy that will raise about $50 million a year for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District.

The big picture: Clevelanders backed the levy in the face of rising local tax burdens and a challenging climate for school levies statewide.

• The new 10-year operating levy will cost homeowners about $300 for every $100,000 of their home's value per year.
• It also extends by 35 years the existing bond issue, which costs homeowners about $93 per $100,000.

State of play: The pro-Issue 49 campaign has said funds will be used to maintain facilities, preserve student and family health services, and improve school safety.

• Schools chief Warren Morgan said as many as 700 teachers would be laid off if the levy failed.

Zoom out: Five other local school levies were on the ballot in Cuyahoga County yesterday.

• Votes were still being counted late last night.

🍜 It's officially ramen season at Mason's Creamery in Ohio City. (Cleveland Scene)

💵 Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb has tapped Paul Barrett, most recently the treasurer for the city of Jacksonville, Florida, to serve as the city's new CFO. (Crain's Cleveland Business 🔒)

🎙️ Comedians and radio personalities Bill Squire and Mary Santora, who appeared on "The Alan Cox Show" on 100.7FM, have been laid off in the latest round of national cuts by iHeartMedia. (Cleveland Magazine)

The Cavs are playing historically dominant basketball, beginning the season 8-0 for only the second time in franchise history.

Record: (8-0); Last week: (4-0)

Weekly slate: Win vs. LA Lakers (134-110); Win vs. Orlando (120-109); Win at Milwaukee (114-113); Win vs. Milwaukee (116-114)

The latest: The Cavs gutted out consecutive wins against a desperate Milwaukee team that hasn't won since their opener.

• Donovan Mitchell hit a game-winner Saturday and Darius Garland orchestrated a heroic fourth quarter comeback Monday.

State of play: High-octane, ludicrously entertaining hoops every night.

🏆 Weekly winner: Mitchell.

• The star guard won the NBA's Player of the Week honors for the seventh time in his career and the fourth time in Cleveland.

😎 Weekly loser: Not applicable.

What's next: Wednesday at New Orleans; Friday vs. Golden State; Saturday vs. Brooklyn; Monday at Chicago.