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Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine predicted Tuesday that the presidential race between President Trump and Democrat Joe Biden will be close in his state but will ultimately result in a Trump victory.

DeWine’s comments came during one of his twice-weekly briefings where he discussed, among other things, the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the state’s economy, Cleveland's WKYC-TV reported.

While discussing the prospects for Republicans of winning Ohio, DeWine said he “never bought into this argument that Ohio’s become a Republican state.”

"I mean, Ohio's a swing state," the Republican governor said. "The president won last time by nine points, I think. That was a big, big, surprise. I think he's going to win this time in Ohio. I think it will be close, but I think he will win."

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The governor’s briefing came a few hours ahead of the first presidential debate between President Trump and Biden in Cleveland.

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In response to what he thinks Trump will say to make his case for re-election, DeWine said he doesn’t speak for the president but pointed to his track record of nominating Supreme Court justices like Amy Coney Barrett who “respect the U.S. Constitution” and aren’t legislators.