Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel offered congratulations to the GOP winners in Ohio’s primary elections.

“Congratulations to Governor Mike DeWine, J.D. Vance, Madison Gesiotto Gilbert, Max Miller, and the rest of the Ohio Republican Congressional Delegation whose wins tonight will pave the way for Republican victories in November,” McDaniel said in a statement.

As in her statement on the Indiana primaries, she said she was confident the policies of the Biden administration on inflation and immigration would secure Republican victories in the state in November. Former President Donald Trump beat President Joe Biden there in 2020.

Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel offered her congratulations the Indiana Republican primary winners.

“Hoosiers are in good hands as Senator Todd Young, Jennifer Ruth Green, Erin Houchin and the rest of the Indiana Republican Congressional Delegation’s wins tonight pave the way for Republican victories in November,” she said in a statement after the races had been called.

McDaniel said she expected the party to do well due to high gas prices and the southern border crisis.

“The RNC will continue to work with the Indiana Republican Party to keep Indiana red come November,” she said.

Tony Dejak/AP

Rep. Shontel Brown (D-OH) has held on to her party’s nomination in spite of stiff competition from a more liberal candidate, Nina Turner, in Ohio’s 11th Congressional District.

Brown maintained the lead she first established when the two went head to head last year in a special election in the Cleveland district. Despite redistricting making the district even more Democratic, with 44% reporting Brown was leading with nearly 64% of the vote.

Brown’s win shows Democratic voters’ continued preference for more centrist candidates, at least for now. She received an endorsement from President Joe Biden, as well the the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

Turner was endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and worked as co-chairwoman of his 2020 presidential run. She also heads his grassroots organization Our Revolution.

Click here to read the full report.

Erin Houchin has emerged as the victor in a crowded Republican field in Indiana’s deep-red 9th Congressional District and will most likely replace retiring Rep. Trey Hollingsworth (R-IN) in the November election.

Houchin left the state Senate to run for the vacant seat and was the second-highest fundraiser after Mike Sodrel, with about $440,000 on file last month. She was endorsed by Rep. Elise Stefanik (NY), chairwoman of the House Republican conference, and came in second in a primary bid against Hollingsworth in 2016.

Sodrel was the top fundraiser in the field of nine candidates, raising over $771,500, according to the most recent Federal Election Commission filings from last month. This is his sixth run for Congress, and he previously represented the district from 2005-07 in his only previous victory.

Click here to read the full report.

Joe Maiorana/AP

Author and venture capitalist J.D. Vance has been projected the winner of Ohio’s contentious Republican primary for Senate.

Holding the Ohio Senate seat soon to be vacated by the retiring Sen. Rob Portman is crucial to Republicans’ efforts to win a Senate majority. The Cook Political Report has rated the race “Lean Republican,” meaning the GOP will likely maintain the seat.

For months, the Republican race seemed to be driven by most of the candidates trying to prove their fealty to former President Donald Trump. Trump ultimately endorsed Vance last month and held a rally in Delaware, Ohio, to tout the endorsement. But Trump’s announcement came late in the process, after early voting in the state had already begun.

His opponent Jane Timken conceded the race and endorsed Vance for the general election.

“I congratulate JD Vance and fully support him in November,” she said in a statement.

Click here to read the full report.

(AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Nan Whaley, the former mayor of Dayton, has been projected to win the Democratic nomination for governor of Ohio.

Whaley on Tuesday defeated John Cranley, the former mayor of Cincinnati, and will face incumbent Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, who won renomination from Republicans to seek a second term, in November.

The Cook Political Report has ranked Ohio’s gubernatorial race as “likely Republican,” leaving Whaley what is likely to be a challenging path in the fall.

Read the full report here.

Joe Maiorana/AP

Max Miller, a former aide to Donald Trump, emerged as the winner of the Republican primary for Ohio’s new 7th Congressional District on Tuesday.

Miller is hoping to replace former Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH), who said he would retire after redistricting turned reelections into a “circus.” Miller was endorsed by Trump when he was originally running against Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH) in the 13th District, who later announced he would leave Congress after four years in office. But map changes in the redistricting process led Miller to instead challenge Gibbs in the GOP primary, which led him to retire at the end of this House term.

Miller was a front-runner in the GOP field, raising nearly $2 million, according to last month’s Federal Election Commission filings. Gibbs won reelection in 2020 with over 67% of the vote in a district covering much of the same territory.

Read the full report here.

(AP Photo/Paul Vernon)

Some counties in Ohio reported temporary delays in submitting ballots as the state held primary elections, citing technical problems with electronic poll books early Tuesday morning.

Electronic poll books, which record voter registration information but do not count votes, in Cuyahoga County and Lucas County experienced similar problems, as scanning issues and technical glitches slowed the process for voters to cast their ballots. However, officials in both counties insisted the problems were resolved and would not lead to incorrect results or uncounted ballots.

In Cuyahoga County, poll workers experienced problems with the electronic poll books, which act as an online roster to ensure voters are properly registered within the district or precinct where they are attempting to submit their ballots, according to Cleveland.com. The machines are meant to scan the stub numbers on voters’ ballots automatically to check them in and record they had voted.

Read the full report here.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine defeated a primary challenge and won renomination from Republicans in the state on Tuesday.

DeWine, who took office in 2019, defeated a Republican primary field that included former Rep. Jim Renacci, businessman and farmer Joe Blystone, and former state Rep. Ron Hood.

DeWine, who has governed as a conservative, including the enactment of tax cuts and anti-abortion measures, sparked the anger of some activists for his approach to the COVID-19 pandemic. In spring 2020, in response to the initial crisis, DeWine’s administration implemented some social distancing requirements, as well as other restrictions on public spaces and businesses. The restrictions were lifted several months ago, but those actions were a frequent point of contention from his primary challengers, who argued he hurt business and cost jobs.

Read the full report here.

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) won his party’s nomination for the Ohio Senate race.

Ryan, who currently serves in the House, won the nomination with a wide lead of 75% over his competitors, with only 15% of the votes reported. The Ohio Democratic Party celebrated his win.

“Congratulations to Tim Ryan for winning the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. … As Ohio’s next U.S. Senator, Tim will keep working alongside Sherrod Brown to level the playing field and invest in our state so that we can out-compete China and create more opportunities for working families in every corner of our state — a far cry from any of the unaccountable and out of touch millionaires vying for the GOP nomination in this race,” said chairwoman Elizabeth Walters.

“The stakes of this election could not be higher, and we look forward to doing all we can to flip this seat and send a second pro-worker champion to the Senate,” she continued.

J.D. Vance is leading the GOP primary, followed by Matt Dolan, in early returns. Unlike the Republican race, the Democratic primary was not competitive.

Ryan and the Republican nominee will square off to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman.

Polls have closed in Indiana and Ohio, and the waiting begins.

Bad weather in some of Ohio’s largest counties may have contributed to low voter turnout, though early voter turnout was higher across the state than in 2018. The overall turnout rate for the 2018 primary was 20%.

Votes are now being counted in Ohio and Indiana.

The top candidates in a crowded race for Ohio’s open Senate seat affirmed their positions on abortion as voters headed to the polls on Tuesday, following the leak of the Supreme Court opinion that could overturn Roe v. Wade on Monday night.

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), who is running for the Democratic senatorial nomination, promised Tuesday afternoon that he would work to codify abortion access at the federal level.

“Fighting for the right to choose includes passing the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would codify Roe v. Wade,” he tweeted. “I was proud to support the [WHPA] in the House. Now it’s time for the Senate to act.”

Republican front-runner and Trump-endorsed J.D. Vance said the ruling “would be an amazing victory for the pro-life movement and, most importantly, the innocents we fight for.” He added that the leak was a worrying sign of institutional breakdown driven by the Left.

Josh Mandel, another top GOP contender, also blasted the leak, calling it “an attempt at mob rule” while celebrating the decision. He also took a jab at Vance’s past criticisms of former President Donald Trump.

Republican Mike Gibbons promised to work for anti-abortion policies if elected and said the issue was personal to him since his mother was adopted.

“Huge [pro-life] victory and great to see the Court recognize all life is protected under the Constitution,” he said on Twitter. “We still have to make sure we elect candidates that will continue to defend the unborn, which is exactly what I’ll do in the U.S. Senate.”

The outcome of the Dobbs v. Jackson decision will weigh heavy over the upcoming midterm elections. If the eventual decision is the same as the leaked opinion, states will have greater power to regulate, and even ban, abortion.

Donald Trump Jr. did his part on Twitter earlier today, calling on fans of J.D. Vance (and his father) to get out there and vote for the Ohio Senate candidate.

Republican Gov. Mike DeWine appears poised to stave off a primary challenge and win renomination from his party, writes Kate Scanlon.

With days remaining before the state’s May 3 primary, polling showed DeWine leading a Republican field that also includes former Rep. Jim Renacci, businessman and farmer Joe Blystone, and former state Rep. Ron Hood.

A RealClearPolitics average of polls showed DeWine leading the Republican primary field by 16.5 points. Were there one anti-DeWine challenger, polls indicate it would be a much closer race.

DeWine’s primary opponents said that his approach to the pandemic hurt business and cost jobs, while the governor has defended his approach as pragmatic in response to a public health crisis. Ohio was one of the first states to implement these restrictions but also one of the first states to lift them. DeWine, 75, recently recovered from COVID-19.

Click here to read the full report.

Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of the Ohio and Indiana primaries.

While the day been taken over somewhat by the extraordinary events in the Supreme Court, there are still two important primaries tonight.

For a guide on what to expect this evening, click here to read Sarah Westwood’s handy guide.

The main event will be the Ohio Senate race and whether former President Donald Trump’s endorsement of J.D. Vance proves a successful one.