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.
Latest headlines:
Moreno probably the favorite at this point
In the Ohio Senate race, Moreno leads Dolan 40 percent to 37 percent with 21 percent of the expected vote reporting, but I'd make him a stronger favorite than that close margin suggests. Much of the vote tallied so far is from early and absentee votes, which are probably more favorable to Dolan. We've seen in previous elections that votes cast on Election Day tend to be better for more Trump-aligned candidates, which should benefit Moreno as Ohio starts to count more of those votes. For instance, around this hour of the evening in Ohio's 2022 Senate primary, Vance led with a tad less than 28 percent with a similar share of the vote reporting, but he wound up winning with 32 percent. That was a more crowded race, but you'd rather be Moreno at this point than Dolan.
—Geoffrey Skelley, 538
First votes in Ohio's 6th
With just a shade under 20 percent of the expected vote counted in Ohio's 6th District, state Sen. Michael Rulli leads state Rep. Reggie Stoltzfus by 7 percentage points in the regularly scheduled primary and 6 points in the special election. Rulli's massive lead in his home base, Mahoning County, is giving him the early advantage.
—Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections
Partisan control of the Ohio Supreme Court is at stake this November
In the only contested Ohio Supreme Court primary today, Democratic 8th District Court of Appeals judge Lisa Forbes is up 64 percent to 36 percent over former public defender Terri Jamison with 26 percent of the expected vote in, according to the Associated Press. The winner will face Republican judge Dan Hawkins, who ran unopposed today, in November to fill the now-open seat of Republican Justice Joe Deters.
The current state Supreme Court is made up of three Democrats and four Republicans. Two of those Democratic justices are up for reelection, alongside Deters's seat. Deters is still running in November, but against his colleague, Democratic Justice Melody Stewart, for different seat on the court. If either Forbes or Jamison can flip Deters's old seat and Democrats can hold on to their other two incumbents, they would gain control of the state's highest court. That seems unlikely though, given Ohio's Republican lean and the results of recent Supreme Court elections in the state.
—Cooper Burton, 538
There technically are still presidential primaries tonight
You didn’t think we’d forget, did you, dear reader? In Florida, Illinois and Ohio, ABC News is projecting that Trump and Biden have won their primaries.
—Mary Radcliffe, 538
The AP has called for Moreno
The Associated Press has called the GOP Senate primary in Ohio for Moreno, though ABC News has not yet made a projection. He currently leads with about 42 percent of the vote, and 25 percent of the expected vote reporting.
—Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections