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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First Republican women loss of the night

ABC News is projecting a winner in one of the races I'm tracking, Ohio's 14th Congressional District, and it's the incumbent, Joyce, as was expected. He had two challengers to his right, one of which was Cross, who had said she would focus on the nation's immigration policy if elected in an interview with The Tribune Chronicle.

—Monica Potts, 538


First Ohio results

We've got our first votes from Ohio's GOP Senate primary, and it's shaping up to be a close one. With 18 percent of the expected vote reporting, Dolan leads Moreno, 39 percent to 38 percent, while LaRose trails with 23 percent.

—Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections


Illinois voters are most worried about crime and taxes

While we wait for Illinois results, let's check in on the issues on the minds of voters in the state. In a September Echelon Insights survey conducted for the Illinois Policy Institute, registered Illinois voters were asked what they thought were the biggest two issues facing the state. Topping the list were "crime and public safety," chosen by 47 percent of respondents, and "high taxes," chosen by 45 percent. Concerns about crime spanned the political divide, with 49 percent of Republican and Republican-leaning and 46 percent of Democratic and Democratic-leaning voters selecting it. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the same was not true about taxes: This issue was selected by 56 percent of Republican and Republican leaners, but just 37 percent of Democratic and Democratic leaners. (Among the latter group, taxes tied with "housing affordability" as the second most important issue.)

—Mary Radcliffe, 538


Polls are now closed in Illinois!

Polls have now closed across Illinois, where we'll be monitoring several U.S. House primaries, as well as a closely-watched referendum in Chicago. Rep. Mike Bost is facing a challenge from his right, while Rep. Danny Davis is facing one from his left.

—Cooper Burton, 538


Answer: A lot and a little

The result in Ohio's Senate primary is probably the most germane to Trump's influence in the party (or at least among the primary electorate) because Dolan alone has sometimes distanced himself from Trump. Now, he's decidedly less Trump-skeptical this time around than he was in 2022, but he's still the closest thing to a more pre-Trump traditional politician in any of these races. Moreno, meanwhile, was an also-ran until Trump picked him as his champion. (He flunked out of the 2022 race despite self-funding.) If Trump can push him to a win like he did J.D. Vance two years ago, that's a sign of strength. In the other contests, I'm not sure there's much to be gleaned. Mike Bost and Darren Bailey are both running very Trump-heavy campaigns. Bailey wasn't endorsed by Trump, but still features him in his ads! Not sure it says much if that's a winning message. And in Ohio's 9th, Merrin may have the endorsement, but Riedel has been working overtime to show his loyalty after those embarrassing clips leaked. Plus, Merrin's only had the endorsement for a few days, and it hasn't featured in any TV ads in the race.

—Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections