Howard Wilkinson wrote in "The Cincinnati Enquirer" the morning after the election "the fact that Paul Hackett made it a very close election is nothing short of astounding... com close to pulling off a monumental political upset." Hackett won in the eastern, rural counties of Pike, Scioto, Brown, and Adams, while Schmidt won in the populous western counties of Clermont, Hamilton, and Warren. "The Cincinnati Post" editorialized Hackett's success in the eastern counties was in part from "the increasingly desperate struggle in rural areas to provide enough decent jobs for those who want them."