In the second of two special elections Tuesday, state Rep. Bob Latta won the 5th district special election in Ohio today with 56 percent of the vote and 74 percent of precincts reporting. The 2004 and 2006 Democratic candidate Robin Weirauch garnered 44 percent of the vote. The race was to fill the seat vacated by the late GOP Rep. Paul Gillmor, who passed away in early September.

It was uncertain just how close the race would be tonight. The National Republican Congressional Committee pumped more than $443,000 into the race by election day — almost a fifth of the committee’s total cash on hand. In the weeks leading up to the contest, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spent more than $240,000, while national and state Democrats hit the trail for Weirauch recently.

— Shira Toeplitz