It’s officially midterms season: Voters are heading to the polls for key primaries in Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, and North Carolina on Tuesday.
The races will decide candidates for crucial House, Senate, and governors races. In Indiana, Republicans Reps. Todd Rokita and Luke Messer and business executive and former state lawmaker Mike Braun, are vying for the chance to challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly.
The race has become one of the nastiest and most expensive of 2018 — with the Republican hopefuls spending more than $9 million. The candidates are trying to out-Trump each other, moving the race further and further to the right, but the campaign has been largely void of policy. Instead, it’s defined by personal attacks and mudslinging.
Six Democrats — including Mel Hall, Pat Hackett, and Yatish Joshi — are hoping to swing the state’s Second District blue in November, while the Ninth District is one of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s main targets for 2018.
4 winners and 2 losers from this week’s 2018 primary elections
The spring 2018 primary season began in earnest Tuesday, as voters in Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, and North Carolina went to the polls. And overall, it was a consequential night of voting, but not a shocking one. In the highest-profile races, the attention-getting outsiders for the most part went down to defeat in favor of more mainstream choices.
For the Senate, we now know the Republican nominees for three key races, who will challenge three Democratic senators representing states Trump won. Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin will face off with Republican state Attorney General Pat Morrisey in West Virginia, Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly will go up against Republican Mike Braun in Indiana, and Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown will face Republican Rep. Jim Renacci in Ohio. These are all outcomes that the dubiously nicknamed “Cocaine Mitch” McConnell is happy with.
Read Article >Greg Pence, Mike Pence’s older brother, is one step closer to serving in Congress
Greg Pence, Vice President Mike Pence’s brother, has won the Republican primary for Indiana’s Sixth District. Scott Olson/Getty ImagesCome November, Vice President Mike Pence could have more family in Washington. His older brother Greg Pence has won the Republican primary for Indiana’s Sixth Congressional District.
The seat, which covers eastern Indiana, is currently held by Rep. Luke Messer, whose own political prospects this year came to an end Tuesday night in a failed Senate bid. Pence, a first-time political candidate, was serving as the finance chair for Messer’s Senate campaign.
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