By ROBERT YOON (Associated Press)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Voting in the contests for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations happens again Tuesday, a week after President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump secured enough delegate support to become their parties’ presumptive nominees. Three states also will hold primaries for other offices as this November’s battle for control of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House comes into sharper focus.
Biden and Trump will be on primary ballots in four states: Arizona, Illinois, Kansas and Ohio. Trump will also be on the ballot in Florida, which canceled its Democratic primary. Neither candidate faces strong challenges, although “None of the Names Shown” will be a ballot option for both primaries in Kansas.
Further down the ballot, California and Ohio will conduct special primaries to fill vacancies in the narrowly divided House. In California’s 20th District, nine candidates are vying to take the place of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who who resigned in December following his removal from the speakership by members of his own party. All candidates run on the same ballot regardless of party, and, if no one receives a majority of the vote on Tuesday, the top two finishers will advance to a May special general election. The winner will serve out the rest of McCarthy’s term. A separate primary was held on March 5 for the full term that begins in January 2025. Republicans Vince Fong, a state Assemblyman, and Mike Boudreaux, the Tulare County sheriff, advanced to the November ballot. They are also competing in Tuesday’s special primary.
In Ohio’s 6th Congressional District, voters will select the candidates to replace former Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, who resigned in January to become the president of Youngstown State University. Three Republicans and two Democrats are vying in both a special election to fill the remainder of Johnson’s term as well as the regularly scheduled primary for the full term. The winner of the special election will advance to a special general election on June 11.
Ohio Republicans will also determine a competitive U.S. Senate primary featuring state Sen. Matt Dolan, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and businessman Bernie Moreno, who has Trump’s support. Dolan has the approval of Gov. Mike DeWine and former Sen. Rob Portman and was the only candidate in his primary who didn’t actively court Trump’s support. The winner will face Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in one of the key races for control of the chamber this fall.
Illinois will also conduct state primaries Tuesday besides the presidential contests. Three incumbent members of Congress face competitive challenges from within their parties. In the 4th Congressional District, Democratic Rep. Chuy García faces Alderman Raymond Lopez. In the 7th District, Rep. Danny Davis is part of a crowded field that includes Chicago City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin, community organizer Kina Collins and two others. In the 12th District, Republican Rep. Mike Bost is being challenged by former state Sen. Darren Bailey.
DECISION NOTES
In the race for president, Biden and Trump are the top choices in their parties' elections because they are not strongly challenged. If they show similar overwhelming support in the first signs of winning in each state, it may be enough to decide who wins that state.
In the special congressional election in California, the March 5 primary results for the full-term seat are useful to compare to the current race, since both races had the same major candidates. Fong finished first on March 5, with Boudreaux far behind in second and Democrat Marisa Wood close behind in third. A candidate can win the seat on Tuesday by getting more than 50% of the vote. If not, the top two finishers will move on to a special general election in May, which might delay determining the winner. If the leading candidate is close to 50%, the race might not be called until more votes are counted, even if the front-runner has a big lead. The Associated Press will either declare a winner if a candidate has clearly received more than 50% of the vote, or declare that no candidate has received a majority and identify the two candidates who will advance to the May special election.
Here are the March 19 contests at a glance:
DELEGATES AT STAKE ON MARCH 19
Democrats: 379
Republicans: 350
STATES WITH PRESIDENTIAL CONTESTS (5)
Arizona, Florida (Republican only), Illinois, Kansas, Ohio
DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CONTESTS (4)
STATE-RUN PRIMARIES (4): Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Ohio
REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CONTESTS (5)
STATE-RUN PRIMARIES (5): Arizona, Florida (Republican only), Illinois, Kansas, Ohio
STATES WITH PRIMARIES FOR STATE & LOCAL OFFICES (3)
California, Illinois, Ohio
TUESDAY TIMELINE
7 p.m. EDT: Most polls close in Florida
7:30 p.m. EDT: All polls close in Ohio
8 p.m. EDT: All polls close in Illinois; last polls close in Florida; most polls close in Kansas
9 p.m. EDT: Last polls close in Kansas; first polls close in Arizona
10 p.m. EDT: Most polls close in Arizona
11 p.m. EDT: All polls close in California
ARIZONA
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY (D): Biden, Gabriel Cornejo, Frankie Lozada, Stephen Lyons, Jason Palmer, Dean Phillips, Marianne Williamson. 72 delegates at stake
PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY (R): Trump, Ryan Binkley, John Castro, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Asa Hutchinson, David Stuckenberg, Vivek Ramaswamy. 43 delegates at stake
WHO CAN VOTE: Voters registered with a party may only participate in their own party’s primary. Independents may vote in any primary.
FIRST VOTES REPORTED (2022 primaries): 11:01 p.m. ET
LAST ELECTION NIGHT UPDATE: 7:11 a.m. ET with about 77% of total votes counted
CALIFORNIA
U.S. HOUSE DISTRICT 20 SPECIAL PRIMARY: Republicans Mike Boudreaux, Anna Zoë Cohen, Vince Fong and Kyle Kirkland. Democrats Harmesh Kumar and Marisa Wood. No Party Preference: James Cardoza, Ben Dewell, David Fluhart. All candidates are listed together on the same ballot regardless of party. If no candidate receives a vote majority, the top two vote-getters advance to a special general election on May 21.
Any voter registered in California's 20th Congressional District can take part in the special primary election.
First results were released at 11:11 p.m. EDT on March 5 primary.
The latest update on election night was at 5:10 a.m. EDT with around 51% of all votes counted.
FLORIDA
The Democratic presidential primary was canceled because Biden was the only candidate chosen by the state party. All 224 delegates were given to Biden.
In the Republican presidential primary, Trump, Binkley, Christie, DeSantis, Haley, Hutchinson, and Ramaswamy are competing for 125 delegates.
Only registered party members can participate in their party's primary. Democrats can't vote in the Republican primary, and vice versa.
The first votes for the 2022 primaries were reported at 7:01 p.m. ET.
The final update on election night was at 1:14 a.m. ET with about 99.8% of all votes counted.
ILLINOIS
In the Democratic presidential primary, Biden, Lozada, Phillips, and Williamson are competing for 147 delegates.
In the Republican presidential primary, Trump, Binkley, Christie, DeSantis, and Haley are competing for 64 delegates.
Rep. Chuy Garcia and Raymond Lopez are in the U.S. House District 4 primary for Democrats.
Rep. Danny Davis, Melissa Conyears-Ervin, Kouri Marshall, Nikhil Bhatia, and Kina Collins are in the U.S. House District 7 primary for Democrats.
Rep. Mike Bost and Darren Bailey are in the U.S. House District 12 primary for Republicans.
Clayton Harris and Eileen O'Neill Burke are in the Democratic primary for Cook County State's Attorney.
Any registered voter can participate in any party's primary.
First votes for the 2022 primaries were reported at 8:05 p.m. EDT.
The last update on election night was at 3:12 a.m. EDT with about 90% of all votes counted.
KANSAS
In the Democratic presidential primary, Biden, Palmer, Phillips, Williamson, and “None of the Names Shown” are competing for 33 delegates.
In the Republican presidential primary, Trump, Binkley, DeSantis, Haley, and “None of the Names Shown” are competing for 39 delegates.
Only party-registered voters can participate in their party's primary. Independents can vote in any party's primary.
First votes for the 2022 primaries were reported at 8:22 p.m. EDT.
The last update on election night was at 3:31 a.m. EDT with about 97% of all votes counted.
OHIO
In the Democratic presidential primary, Biden and Phillips are competing for 127 delegates.
In the Republican presidential primary, Trump, Christie, DeSantis, Haley, and Ramaswamy are competing for 79 delegates.
Frank LaRose, Bernie Moreno, and Matt Dolan are in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.
Niraj Antani, Kim Georgeton, Phil Heimlich, Ron Hood, and Thomas Hwang are in the Republican primary for U.S. House District 2.
Michael Rulli, Reggie Stoltzfus, and Rick Tsai (for both full and partial terms) are in the Republican primary for U.S. House District 6.
Steve Lankenau, J.R. Majewski, Derek Merrin, and Craig Riedel are in the Republican primary for U.S. House District 9.
Lisa Forbes and Terri Jamison are in the Democratic primary for Supreme Court for the term ending Dec. 31.
Any registered voter can participate in any party's primary.
First votes for the 2022 primaries were reported at 7:38 p.m. EDT.
The last update on election night was at 1:14 a.m. EDT with about 99% of all votes counted.
UNCOMMITTED ON THE BALLOT
Kansas is listed as “None of the Names Shown” on both the Democratic and Republican ballots.
ARE WE THERE YET?
As of Tuesday, there will be 118 days until the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, 153 days until the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, and 231 days until the November general election.
