NATIONAL ELECTION RETURNS : State-by-State Election Reports of Key Races and Issues : Ohio

COLUMBUS —  Republican George Bush took an early lead over Democrat Michael S. Dukakis in the contest for Ohio’s 23 electoral votes.

In the costliest Senate race in Ohio history, Democrat Howard Metzenbaum, 71, fought off a strong Republican challenge by George Voinovich, mayor of Cleveland, to retain his Ohio Senate seat for a third term.

In an echo of the presidential race, Voinovich had sought to tag Metzenbaum as a liberal out of touch with the mainstream of his state.

None of the 11 Democrats and nine Republicans seeking re-election to the U.S. House was considered in danger, and early final returns produced no upsets.

In the 5th District, Ohio Senate President Paul Gillmor, a Republican, battled Sandusky lawyer Thomas Murray, a Democrat, for the seat being vacated by Republican Rep. Delbert Latta after 30 years.

Metzenbaum, aided by the Ohio Democratic Party and strong labor backing, had spent more than $7 million in seeking a third term. The 71-year-old Cleveland millionaire said the race would be his last.

Voinovich matched Metzenbaum in spending, but his campaign nosedived after a television ad that sought to paint Metzenbaum as soft on child pornographers. Newspapers statewide deplored the tactic, and the Metzenbaum campaign answered with its own ad: a spot in which fellow Democrat Sen. John Glenn called the Voinovich charge “disgusting.”

Bush and Dukakis campaigned right up to election eve in Ohio. Bush had help from President Reagan, who made two campaign stops on behalf of his vice president.