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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An embattled county prosecutor in Ohio is hanging onto his seat

In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, home to Cleveland, incumbent Prosecutor Michael O'Malley is fending off a strong challenger from the left, former public defender Matthew Ahn. O'Malley has been criticized for a string of wrongful convictions and death sentences, but currently leads Ahn 64 to 36 percent, with 20 percent of ballot scanners in the county reporting, according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.

—Cooper Burton, 538


The curious case of Derek Myers

For those of you who aren't familiar with Derek Myers, the 31-year-old who accidentally sent out a concession statement several hours before polls closed, you're in for a real treat. The Cincinnati Enquirer recently wrote a pretty comprehensive expose into his past legal troubles, which is definitely worth reading (especially given that Myers has filed a libel suit against the paper).

Also worth reading is Myers' response to the reporters who wrote the article, which the Enquirer published in full and which included such gems as when Myers says he once told a deputy who pulled him over for speeding that he "was not trained enough to handle someone of Derek's caliber," and later tells the reporter, "you are playing in dangerous waters, my little friend."

If that's not enough for you, Myers previously made news last year for his brief stint working for embattled New York Rep. George Santos, who he accused of sexual harassment.

—Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections


Final check-in on Democratic women

In Ohio's 15th District, Zerqa Abid, an anti-violence and anti-gang advocate in the Columbus area, is projected to lose her primary against former state Rep. Adam Miller, according to ABC News. Miller will face Republican incumbent Mike Carey in the fall. The district is fairly safely Republican, and Carey received Trump's endorsement when he first ran in an open special primary in 2021.

In all, 13 of the 17 Democratic women running tonight are projected to win their primaries, including nine incumbents.

—Monica Potts, 538


Republicans have their candidate in Ohio's competitive 13th District

In Ohio's 13th District, former state Sen. Kevin Coughlin is projected to win, according to ABC News. With 27 percent of the expected vote reporting, Coughlin is way out ahead with 67 percent of the vote, putting him well ahead of Hudson City Councilor Chris Banweg, who has 26 percent. Coughlin had a slight fundraising edge over Banweg, but it wasn't evident coming into the election if one candidate had a clear upper hand. Turns out, Coughlin did. Now he'll face Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes in the purple seat that sits around Akron, south of Cleveland, one that Biden would have only carried by 3 percentage points in 2020.

—Geoffrey Skelley, 538


Ohio 6’s special election turns negative

The special election to replace former Rep. Bill Johnson in Ohio’s 6th District has been a relatively low-key affair since the seven-term Republican left office in January. State Sen. Michael Rulli and state Rep. Reggie Stoltzfus are both running in the regularly scheduled primary and the special election primary for the GOP nomination tonight (so is chiropractor Rick Tsai, who has not raised much money and isn’t seen as a contender); the winner will be a shoo-in for both the June 11 special general election and November general election in this safe red district.

Both candidates are tying themselves closely to Trump, and spent the first month of the race airing positive ads. But Rulli, who is backed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, once had a more moderate reputation in the state Senate when he represented a competitive Youngstown-area seat, while Stoltzfus, who has backing from the socially conservative Family Research Council and Gen. Mike Flynn, has consistently been one of the most conservative members of the state House and has pledged to join the House Freedom Caucus if elected.

In the closing weeks, the race has turned on LGBTQ issues, with Stoltzfus airing ads accusing Rulli of “sponsoring legislation to allow boys in girls’ bathrooms” — a reference to Rulli’s cosponsorship of an LGBTQ anti-discrimination bill (he was one of the only Republicans to back the bill). Rather than lean into his record, Rulli’s allies at Defending Main Street (a wing of the Republican Main Street Partnership) are working to fashion the candidate, who once described himself as “really pro-gay rights” into a conservative outsider who “will stop the Left’s war on children” with respect to transgender issues.

Stoltzfus ($492,000) and Rulli ($479,000) have spent around the same amount of money on ads through March 18, per AdImpact data, with the pro-Rulli Defending Main Street PAC chipping in another $80,000.

—Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections