Illinois and Ohio primaries 2024: Trump-backed Senate candidate prevails in Ohio primary

538 tracked key House and Senate races, including a California special election.

November’s presidential matchup may be set, but Democrats and Republicans still need to decide who will run in hundreds of downballot races (e.g., for Senate and House) this fall. A batch of these contests were decided on Tuesday, March 19.

Tuesday was primary day in Ohio and Illinois, and in the biggest contest of the day, Republicans chose former President Donald Trump's endorsee Bernie Moreno as their candidate in Ohio’s U.S. Senate race. It was a good night for other Trump endorsees too, as Derek Merrin prevailed in the GOP primary for Ohio's 9th Congressional District, while incumbent Mike Bost is leading his challenger in Illinois's 12th District, as of early Wednesday morning. Plus, a special election in California could have immediate implications for House Republicans’ razor-thin majority.

538 reporters and contributors broke down the election results as they came in with live updates, analysis and commentary. Read our full live blog below.


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Polls have now closed in California

Polls are now closed in the Golden State, where a special election is taking place to fill the seat of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for the remainder of his term. State Assemblymember Vince Fong led in the regular top-two primary two weeks ago, and is favored to ultimately win this race as well. But results in California usually take quite a while to fully come in since a large proportion of voters vote by mail. And it might not end with today's contest either: If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote today, the top two vote-getters will advance to a special general election in May.

—Cooper Burton, 538


Republicans put their faith in another rich guy

Moreno’s nomination in Ohio continues a trend of Republicans entrusting their Senate hopes to a coterie of very wealthy men (and one woman, Nella Domenici in New Mexico). In almost every single competitive Senate race, the likely Republican nominee is a politically inexperienced but very wealthy man, each of whom is self-funding to some degree. While Moreno isn’t as wealthy as Tim Sheehy in Montana, Eric Hovde in Wisconsin or Dave McCormick in Pennsylvania, he certainly fits the mold. And if Republicans come up short in their efforts to flip the chamber this fall, I think there will be a lot of focus on how the party eschewed candidates with experience winning races in favor of neophytes, especially when Democrats have such strong incumbents.

Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections


Checking in on anti-abortion Republican candidates

Of the 29 anti-abortion Republican candidates we're tracking, 15 have been projected to win per ABC News, including 6 incumbents. Twelve challengers are projected to lose their races (though, of course, many were running in the same contests, like the crowded Ohio 2nd District race). In the only race on this list that's not yet projected, Illinois's 12th District, incumbent Mike Bost is leading Darren Bailey — both are on the list. With abortion shaping up to be an important issue in the fall, these candidates have all made pro-life statements without saying abortion should be left to the states. That could signal their willingness to support a national abortion ban, as some Republican and national anti-abortion groups are advocating for.

—Monica Potts, 538


Rulli projected to win

In Ohio’s 6th District, Michael Rulli is projected to defeat Reggie Stoltzfus in the Republican primary, according to ABC News. Rulli currently leads by about 9 percentage points in the regularly scheduled primary and 8 points in the special election primary to succeed Rep. Bill Johnson, with over 80 percent of the expected vote reporting in each. Because the district is solidly Republican, Rulli will likely be the next member of Congress. A special election in a few months will send him to D.C., where he’ll fill out the remainder of Johnson’s term.

—Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections


And the winners are ...

It’s midnight Eastern, and all but one of our key races have been projected in Ohio and Illinois. Here’s a recap of where things stand in those races:

- Former President Donald Trump once again flexed his muscles in the Ohio Senate race, elevating former car salesman Bernie Moreno from a 2022 also-ran to the GOP nominee in one of the two top Senate races on the map, beating an uber-rich state senator and a two-time statewide officeholder in the process. But Moreno’s toughest path lies ahead, against well-funded incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. With 96 percent of the expected vote reporting, Moreno leads with 51 percent of the vote over state Sen. Matt Dolan’s 33 percent and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s 17 percent.

- In Ohio's 9th District, the conservative backed by Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, state Rep. Derek Merrin, is projected to win, and ready to take on Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur in what could be a tough general election race. With 80 percent of the expected vote reporting, Merrin has won 52 percent of the vote, 18 percentage points ahead of his nearest competition.

- In Ohio’s 13th District, another potentially competitive Democratic-held seat, former state Sen. Kevin Coughlin advanced out of the GOP primary rather easily and will take on Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes in November. With 80 percent of the expected vote in, Coughlin leads with 65 percent of the vote so far over businessman Chris Banweg’s 28 percent and Richard Morckel’s 7 percent.

- The Republican Main Street Partnership notched a win against its rivals in the House Freedom Caucus in Ohio’s 6th District, where state Sen. Michael Rulli is projected to beat state Rep. Reggie Stoltzfus. Rulli currently leads by 9 points with 83 percent of the expected vote reporting in the regular primary, and by 8 points with 82 percent of the expected vote in the special election. Rulli will face a nominal challenge from Democrat Michael Kripchak on June 11 in the special election to replace Rep. Bill Johnson.

- In another safe GOP seat, Ohio’s 2nd District Republican primary went for business owner David Taylor, who won a crowded race that was tantamount to election in November. With 95 percent of the expected vote reporting, Taylor leads with 25 percent of the expected vote over 10 other challengers.

- Despite several challengers lining up to replace Democratic Rep. Danny Davis, the long-time incumbent is likely to hold onto his seat in Illinois’s 7th District. With 76 percent of the expected vote in, Davis leads with 53 percent of the vote so far. In second is Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin with 22 percent, followed by community organizer Kina Collins with 18 percent. Collins was seen as Davis’s primary competition tonight, and her underwhelming performance was part of a tough night for progressives in Chicago.

—Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections; Geoffrey Skelley and Monica Potts, 538