Voters in two Ohio congressional districts went to the polls Tuesday to select the Democratic and Republican nominees, who are now significant favorites in the special general elections on November 2.
In Ohio’s 11th, the Cleveland-based seat most recently held by HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge, Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Shontel Brown defeated Bernie Sanders campaign co-chairwoman/former state Sen. Nina Turner in the Democratic primary. In Ohio’s 15th, a Columbus-anchored district left vacant by the resignation of GOP Rep. Steve Stivers, coal lobbyist Mike Carey won a crowded race for the GOP nomination, while state Rep. Allison Russo defeated nominal opposition to win the Democratic primary.
Here are six things I think after the results in Ohio.
Endorsements matter. Former President Donald Trump’s chosen candidate in the Ohio 15 GOP primary was Carey, a lobbyist whose only previous foray into electoral politics was a failed bid for state House in 1998. But Carey easily outpaced a wide field of challengers that included several current and former state legislators. And in the Ohio 11 Democratic primary, Brown started out as a relatively unknown local politician. But the initial underdog rode a wave of endorsements from Hillary Clinton, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, and much of the Congressional Black Caucus all the way to victory.
Trump matters. After Susan Wright, the Trump-endorsed candidate in the Texas 6 runoff, lost to fellow Republican Jake Ellzey last week, some people began to wonder if Trump had lost some juice among the party’s primary voters. But Tuesday’s results will quiet that chatter, with none of the non-Carey candidates coming close to winning. While this was a low-turnout special election, and Carey received 36 percent, it will still put some pep back into Trump-world after last...