In September 2018, The "Columbus Dispatch" criticized a website launched by Faber, which included false claims made against Space and an image of Space's father which had been doctored to look like Space shaking hands with Nancy Pelosi. Space also criticized the doctored photograph as a campaign point. In October, three weeks before the election, the Associated Press reported that Faber had incurred penalties for failing to pay nearly $5,500 in taxes on time on multiple properties over multiple years. Space argued these failures would make Faber a hypocritical state auditor. After Space in September 2018 was endorsed by the "Columbus Dispatch" and "Akron Beacon Journal", the "Cleveland Plain Dealer" endorsed Space in mid-October, citing Faber's reputation for partisanship. Space was defeated in the November election by less than 3.5%. Space led the Democratic ticket, running ahead of the four other statewide Democratic ticket, and ran between 5-10% ahead of the Democratic ticket across Appalachian Ohio.