(Image Source: Brooke LaValley / McClatchy-Tribune)

BY ADAM FALK
ANCHOR MEGAN MURPHY

Tuesday night, Ohioans voted to repeal a law restricting collective bargaining rights for 350,000 public workers. Senate Bill 5 first passed Ohio’s Republican-controlled legislature in March, but after 62% of voters said no on Tuesday, here’s what Governor John Kasich had to say.

GOV. JOHN KASICH: “It’s clear that the people have spoken. And, you know, my view is, when people speak, in a campaign like this in a referendum, you have to listen when you’re a public servant. … I understand their decision, and frankly, I respect what people have to say in an effort like this.” (MSNBC)

This statement comes after the governor told state Dems last November, “get on the bus or we’re going to run you over.” Doug Sizemore of Cincinnati’s AFL-CIO tells MSNBC unions not only responded to Kasich, they made a statement to the nation.

DOUG SIZEMORE: “I think the whole nation was watching the election in Ohio yesterday. The decisive victory we had in defeating issue two sent a strong message, not only here in Ohio, but across the country that people do not want to see collective bargaining attacked.”

But a writer for Fox News says, this might not be a victory for Ohio, a state with an $8 billion budget deficit.

“Absent the flexibility in public sector union contracts that his just-defeated bill had imposed, [Kasich] will now likely have to cut the budgets of local governments – leading them to layoff workers now that they are blocked from reorganizing workplaces.

The battle between organized labor and statehouse Republicans is also seen in New Jersey, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin. The last state saw a protests in March after a similar measure was passed. CNN spoke to a Wisconsin labor representative who says a win for Ohio is a win for Wisconsin.

"Unlike Ohio, Wisconsin workers do not have the opportunity to put a referendum on the ballot. Thankfully we have the right to recall. Today's win in Ohio has energized and excited Wisconsin workers to recall Gov. Walker and put a stop to his attack on working families.”

The question on many commentators minds - how will this effect 2012? The Dems view the night as a win in a key state. But Ohio also approved a measure that exempts residents from the individual mandate requirement in Obama’s health care law. A writer for The Washington Post says...

“The dual outcomes suggest voters in the presidential battleground oppose efforts by both parties to reshape the way the government works in the face of yawning deficits and persistently high unemployment.”

Transcript by Newsy.