Daniela Altimari and Mary Ellen McIntire | CQ-Roll Call (TNS)
WASHINGTON — Current officials in difficult positions won, one without much effort, while other preliminary elections and special elections in California, Illinois, and Ohio created matchups for the upcoming battles or selected candidates for unopposed positions.
Here are nine things to understand about the election outcomes.
Trump — and Schumer — achieved their goals
In the competition between MAGA and the Ohio GOP establishment to challenge vulnerable Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Trump faction secured another victory. Bernie Moreno’s decisive win over state Sen. Matt Dolan and Secretary of State Frank LaRose in Ohio’s intense and expensive Senate preliminary came shortly after former President Donald Trump appeared at a rally in Dayton with Moreno.
Moreno’s success also represented a triumph for Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer. A political action committee aligned with the New York Democrat invested around $3.2 million to support Moreno, portraying him as a close ally of Trump who is “too conservative for Ohio,” ultimately boosting Moreno's standing among Republican primary voters.
Speaker Johnson also succeeded
In Ohio’s 9th District, House Republicans were divided over their preferred challenger to Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur. Rep. Jim Jordan supported former state Rep. Craig Riedel, while House Speaker Mike Johnson backed state lawmaker Craig Merrin. The Congressional Leadership Fund, a political action committee aligned with Johnson, spent $756,000 supporting Merrin, and Trump endorsed him just before the polls opened.
Matt Gaetz was not successful
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz clashed with Illinois Rep. Mike Bost last year during the struggle to elect a speaker. Gaetz then campaigned with Darren Bailey, who challenged Bost. But Bost outspent Bailey and was leading by 3 percentage points.
Bost, who is on track to win a sixth term in a district rated Solid Republican, was endorsed by Trump, which reinforced his credentials with Republican primary voters.
Gaetz has also focused on fellow GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales, who faces a runoff in Texas. The dynamics of that race may differ, as Gonzales has split with his party on certain issues.
J.D. Vance had a night with both positive and negative outcomes.
The senator from Ohio experienced both a victory and a defeat on Tuesday. Vance supported Moreno in the GOP’s Senate contest early on, but his preferred candidate, Chris Banweg, lost the primary to Kevin Coughlin, who was backed by Jordan, to take on Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes in Ohio’s 13th District.
A crowd can be beneficial.
Sometimes, securing the nomination doesn’t require achieving large numbers or winning the majority of the vote. In Ohio’s safe-red open 2nd District, David Taylor won the Republican primary with just 25% of the vote, despite facing 10 other candidates. Taylor, Larry Kidd, and Tim O’Hara, all invested over $1 million of their own funds and ran as Trump-supporting conservatives. Phil Heimlich, a former Cincinnati City Council member, criticized the other candidates for overlooking Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Heimlich finished sixth with 5% of the vote, while Taylor will face Democrat Samantha Meadows, who suffered a significant defeat to retiring incumbent Rep. Brad Wenstrup in 2022.
Taylor will compete against Democrat Samantha Meadows, who lost by 49 points to retiring incumbent Rep. Brad Wenstrup in 2022.
Geography matters too.
State Sen. Michael Rulli had an advantage in the GOP race for a vacant seat in the 6th District over state Rep. Reggie Stoltzfus and chiropractor Rick Tsai, as the major counties of the congressional district are part of Rulli’s current state Senate district. Additionally, Rulli's family owns two grocery stores, which were prominently featured in one of Rulli’s ads.
A solid Republican seat opened up after former Rep. Bill Johnson resigned to lead a local college, leading to simultaneous primaries on Tuesday for a full term beginning in January and for the remainder of Johnson’s term this year. A special election to fill the seat will occur on June 11, with Democrat Michael Kripchak being nominated in the district that supported Trump over Biden by 29 points in 2020.
The replacement for McCarthy will have to wait.
In California’s 20th District, state Assemblymember Vince Fong took the top spot in the special election to fill the unexpired term of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. However, Fong, who also led in a primary for a full term beginning next year, is headed for a runoff on May 21 as he finished with approximately 41% of the vote in the nine-candidate field. The second spot was contested between Republican Michael Boudreaux and Democrat Marisa Wood, with Fong having the support of both McCarthy and Trump.
Age concerns are not an issue.
Illinois Rep. Danny K. Davis, 82, seems poised to secure a 15th term in November after finishing more than 30 percentage points ahead of his closest challenger in a five-way primary on Tuesday evening. He dismissed worries about his age and argued that Biden’s age should not be a concern.
Davis said in his victory speech that we shouldn't underestimate older people. He also expressed support for President Joe Biden, stating that he believes Biden will lead the country in the right direction and that he will support him.
Biden, who is 81 years old, is seeking reelection as the oldest president in American history. This has raised concerns among voters, but he has been trying to alleviate those concerns. He is expected to compete against Trump, the presumed GOP nominee who is only four years younger.
Giving out coffee will not get you votes.
Illinois Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García essentially secured another term on Tuesday by defeating Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez with 69% of the vote in a Democratic primary for the 4th District. There is no Republican candidate in this district. However, the day was not without its drama.
García’s campaign was successful. accused Lopez’s campaign involved distributing coffee, doughnuts, and money for lunch to election judges on Tuesday.
Lopez mentioned in a statement that Garcia was trying to discredit anyone who opposes him and that providing election judges with coffee and lunch is a longstanding tradition.
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