DDHQ Morning News Spotlight: A Recap of the Ohio and Indiana Primaries

Welcome to this morning’s Decision Desk HQ Morning News Spotlight on Elections Daily as part of the Decision Desk HQ News Network.

You can find our full results from yesterday’s primaries in Indiana and Ohio at results.decisiondeskHQ.com

Morning Headlines

• J.D. Vance has won the Ohio U.S. Senate Republican primary. Decision Desk HQ called the race at 9:09 p.m. (EDT) last night. Vance took only 32% of the vote, but that was enough to secure the nomination. Three other candidates took over 10% of the vote including Josh Mandel who took 24% and had a strong showing in the western part of the state, and Matt Dolan who took 23% and won the state’s two most populous counties. Vance will face off against Tim Ryan who won the nomination with 70% of the vote and carried every county in the state.
• In the Republican race for Ohio Governor, Mike DeWine survived multiple well-funded primary challengers to secure his party’s nomination in his reelection bid. DeWine took just 48% of the vote, performing strongest around the big cities and their suburbs. Former Congressman Jim Renacci only carried two counties but got 28% of the vote statewide. Joe Blystone had a strong rural showing winning in 22 counties but ended with only 22% of the vote statewide. Governor DeWine will face former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley in November. Whaley won her primary against former Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley with 65% of the vote. Cranley carried the Toledo area where his running mate is from, and the counties to the east of Cincinnati, but failed to win in his home county of Hamilton.
• In Ohio’s 11th Congressional District, a rematch of last year’s special election played out in the Democratic primary with the incumbent Rep. Shontel Brown winning with 67%, expanding her margin of victory from the special election where she took 50%. Brown will face Republican Eric Brewer in November in this heavily Democratic Cleveland area district.
• In Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, J.R. Majewski emerged victorious from the competitive Republican field. The Trump-touting conservative took 36% of the vote to beat out state Sen. Theresa Gavarone and state Rep. Craig Reidel who each won their home counties but was unable to gain traction elsewhere in the district. Majewski will be challenging 40-year incumbent Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur in November. Kaptur is the longest-serving woman in the U.S. House but is facing a much more difficult district electoral landscape after the latest redistricting.
• In Indiana U.S. House races, former state Sen. Erin Houchin won the Republican primary in the 9th District. It was a competitive contest with three candidates having strong showings, but Houchin managed to win with 37% of the vote. She will face Democrat Matthew Fyfe in November in this heavily Republican district.
• In Indiana’s 1st Congressional District Jennifer-Ruth Green won the Republican primary with 47% in a race that showed former President Trump still has sway in northern Indiana. Green will face incumbent Congressman Frank Mrvan in the general election for the northwest Indiana district. The district has for a long time been a Democratic stronghold in the state but has been trending rightward in recent elections.

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