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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Bost holding his own

In Illinois' 12th District, Bost is ahead of challenger Bailey by 10 percentage points, 55 to 45 percent, with 36 percent of the expected vote in. But there's still a lot of vote to be counted in the eastern part of the district, where Bailey is stronger.

—Jacob Rubashkin, Inside Elections


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


The GOP primary in Ohio's 9th is a mess, again

One of today's most consequential primaries for the general election is taking place in Ohio's 9th District. According to Daily Kos Elections, Trump would have carried the district 51 percent to 48 percent in 2020. But in 2022, incumbent Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur defeated Republican Air Force veteran J.R. Majewski 57 percent to 43 percent here thanks to Majewski's weaknesses as a candidate: He exaggerated his military service, attended the Jan. 6 rally (though he says he didn't enter the Capitol) and once subscribed to the QAnon conspiracy theory.

Majewski quickly announced he would run again in 2024, agitating Republican operatives who feared he would once again throw away a winnable House seat. But to their relief, he withdrew from the race a few weeks ago, leaving the primary to state Rep. Derek Merrin and former state Rep. Craig Riedel. Riedel was originally the top alternative to Majewski, but a couple of his pro-Trump supporters withdrew their endorsement of him after audio leaked of him calling Trump "arrogant." That sent GOP elders scrambling to find a new alternative to Majewski, and Merrin — who was in line to be the speaker of the Ohio state House last year until a faction of renegade Republicans joined Democrats to elect a different Republican — jumped into the race just before the filing deadline.

The primary is far from settled, though. While Trump endorsed Merrin just yesterday, and Speaker Mike Johnson endorsed Merrin in January, many establishment Republicans, such as House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, are still with Riedel. And Merrin's late entry into the race means he trails Riedel badly in fundraising, $175,000 to $1.2 million. And while he's no Majewski, a Riedel win could still give Republicans headaches: He's aligned with the tea party movement and has previously expressed interest in joining the hardline House Freedom Caucus.

—Nathaniel Rakich, 538