Trump-endorsed Vance projected winner in Ohio

It marks a huge win for Trump, who backed the GOP Senate candidate.

ByLibby Cathey, Hannah Demissie, Oren Oppenheim, and Lalee Ibssa
Last Updated: May 3, 2022, 11:28 PM EDT

The first multistate contest of the 2022 midterm season kicked off Tuesday with primary races in Ohio and Indiana.

Ohio's Senate race marked the first major sign of former President Donald Trump's endorsement power at the polls.

Latest Developments:

Here's how the races are developing today. All times Eastern. Check back for updates.
May 03, 2022, 5:18 PM EDT

What to watch for in Indiana

Some races in Indiana -- such as the state's 1st Congressional District where a slew of Republican challengers are vying to win the seat held by incumbent Democratic Rep. Frank Mrvan -- are seen as possible bellwethers for whether Republicans manage can flip districts in Democratic strongholds.

Indiana’s 9th Congressional District -- the only vacant congressional seat in the state -- is also in play when it comes to which party will control the House of Representatives after the midterms.

A voter leaves the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site in Indianapolis, on May 3, 2022, after voting in the Indiana primary election.
Michael Conroy/AP

Along with Ohio, the state is an early indicator of the power of former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, as Trump carried the state in 2020. Trump has backed six incumbent members of the House of Representatives in the state, including Rep. Greg Pence, former Vice President Mike Pence’s brother.

Polls close in Indiana at 7 p.m. ET, though there is some variation because the state falls within two time zones.

May 03, 2022, 4:28 PM EDT

Supreme Court bombshell lands as Ohio tests Trump and Biden

Voters head to the polls in Ohio on Tuesday on the heels of a shocking leak of a Supreme Court draft opinion suggesting the court's conservative majority may overturn nearly 50 years of abortion rights in America.

The endorsement power of former President Donald Trump -- who promised to appoint Supreme Court justices who would overturn Roe -- faces a major test in the race of retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman in Ohio. While almost all the GOP candidates have centered their campaigns around being a Trump conservative, "never-Trumper" turned Trump ally J.D. Vance scored his coveted endorsement, upending the race.

Republican Senate candidate JD Vance speaks at a rally in Delaware, Ohio, April 23, 2022.
Joe Maiorana/AP

On the Democratic side, the contest in Ohio's 11th Congressional District between Rep. Shontel Brown and Nina Turner has pitted establishment Democrats against progressives. Biden endorsed Brown over Turner last week in his second primary endorsement of the election cycle, but progressives including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have backed Turner.

A new ABC News/Washington Post polling out Tuesday shows that 60% of Republicans and GOP-leaning independents want the GOP to follow Trump’s leadership -- about where that’s been since he left office. By contrast, only about 53% of Democrats and independents who lean that way want to follow Biden’s leadership, with younger Democrats most solidly favoring a new direction.

-ABC News' Political Director Rick Klein