Voters are heading to the polls for key primaries in Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, and North Carolina, kicking off 2018 midterms season in earnest.
The races will decide candidates for crucial House, Senate, and governor’s races — and Ohio’s governor’s race is one of the most important, and bizarre, in the country.
Republican governor and 2016 presidential candidate John Kasich is term-limited, and it’s anyone’s guess who will succeed him. On the Democratic side, former Obama administration official Richard Cordray is looking to fend off Dennis Kucinich, a former Congress member who is now a Fox News talking head with an unusual affinity for President Trump and the Syrian government. Mike DeWine, Ohio’s attorney general and a former US senator, is the presumed Republican favorite, but Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor is making the race interesting and hugging as closely as she can to Trump.
Democrats are also hoping to pick up House seats in the First District, which is on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s Red to Blue list, and the 10th District, where they’re running a former Republican.
Also on Tuesday, voters will weigh in on a rare bipartisan deal to reform redistricting in one of the most gerrymandered states in the country.
Dylan Scott and Jen Kirby
Ohio election recount rules, explained
Republican Troy Balderson has a tiny lead over Danny O’Connor in the Ohio 12th special election. Scott Olson/Getty ImagesThe Ohio 12th special election between Democrat Danny O’Connor and Republican Troy Balderson is a nail-biter — and it could go to a recount.
The margin with upward of 85 percent of the votes counted is close enough (it’s a virtual tie) that it could trigger an automatic recount under state law. Here’s what you should know.
Read Article >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 >Richard Cordray used to lead the government’s top consumer watchdog. Now he’s trying to become governor of Ohio.
Richard Cordray, former director of the CFPB, is now running for governor of Ohio. Alex Wong/Getty ImagesRichard Cordray, the former director of the government’s top consumer watchdog, will be the Democratic nominee for Ohio’s governor after beating Dennis Kucinich in a tense primary contest.
Cordray, 59, served as the first director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from 2012 to 2017. Created under the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill in the wake of the financial crisis, the bureau sought to enhance and enforce consumer rights and protections in the financial arena and areas such as mortgages, lending, and banking. Prior to that, Cordray served as Ohio’s attorney general and state treasurer. He has deep roots in Ohio and was born in Grove City, southwest of Columbus.
Read Article >Mike DeWine wins Republican nomination in Ohio governor’s race
Mike DeWine will be the Republican nominee in the 2018 Ohio governor’s race. AP Photo/John MinchilloOhio Attorney General Mike DeWine won the Republican nomination in the Ohio governor’s race, besting Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor and setting himself up as the slight favorite for November.
DeWine, the mainstream candidate and presumptive favorite for most of the campaign, beat Taylor, who hugged tightly to President Trump and slammed DeWine as opposed to Trump on core issues like immigration and trade.
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