Ohio Picked Its November Matchups
Ohio primary reactions, surprises, and the races that deserve a deeper autopsy
First, congrats to everyone who won.
Congrats to everyone who put their name on the ballot and actually ran. Now we move on to November.
And thank you to everybody who tuned into the live stream last night. Around 80 people popped in, even with the technical difficulties and the original link having to be changed. I know that left some people scrambling to find the stream, so I appreciate everyone who stuck with it.
I streamed for about two and a half hours and went to bed right before the race was officially called for Poindexter. But honestly, by that point, the writing was on the wall. I was already saying on the stream that it looked like it should be called for him.
Some races were over so fast that you barely had time to boot up the computer, log in, find the results page, and pretend there was suspense.
But that is primary night. Sometimes you get a fight. Sometimes you don’t.
So let’s go through the races I was watching and what stood out.
The Statewide Races Were Mostly Blowouts
For governor, it is going to be Vivek Ramaswamy versus Amy Acton in November. Ramaswamy absolutely dominated the Republican primary, beating Casey Putsch, also known as Casey the Car Guy, in a race that was called almost immediately after the polls closed.
I do not think there is some massive insight to pull from that race. Of course, if there is a competitor on the ballot, some people are going to vote for the competitor. That does not mean there was a real movement. That does not mean the party was in trouble.
The Republican-endorsed candidate, who had the endorsement behind him long before the signature deadline, won easily. It was not close.
Sherrod Brown
In the Senate race, it will be Sherrod Brown versus Jon Husted. Brown also had his race called in like 12 minutes after the polls closed, defeating Ron Kincaid in the Democratic primary.
You still have to give people like Ron Kincaid credit for making the attempt. Running is not easy. Putting your name on the ballot is not easy. But this race was never really in doubt.
Ohio’s 7th District Deserves a Deep Dive
Ohio’s 7th District was the number one race on my radar, for obvious reasons.
Brian Poindexter took command of that race once the votes really started coming in. Early on, it looked closer between Poindexter and Ed FitzGerald, but as the night went on, the margin kept growing. Poindexter ended up winning the race with about 37 percent of the vote, beating FitzGerald by around 10,000 votes, followed by Laura Rodriguez-Carbone and Michael Eisner.
This is one of those races that needs a deeper dive. There were a lot of candidates, a lot of perspectives, and honestly, a lot of strong people in the field. The votes were spread all across the ballot, which tells me voters were actually looking, thinking, comparing, and making their own personal decisions.
But in the end, Poindexter dominated.
The Congressional Races Set Up Some Real November Fights
In Ohio’s 11th District, Shontel Brown dominated her primary and will be heading back to Congress. The general election there is more procedure than actual suspense.
HOWEVER, Over in Ohio’s 9th District, Derek Merrin won the Republican primary and will face Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur in November. Multiple outlets projected Merrin’s win, setting up a rematch against Kaptur, who has represented the district since 1983 and remains one of the toughest people in Ohio politics to beat.
And yes, I am still calling her the Iron Babushka (I just cant stop laughing about that name from D.J. Byrnes The Rooster).
Republicans poured a lot of money and energy into that primary because they think Kaptur is vulnerable. Derek Merrin won clearly, Josh Williams raised serious money, and Madison Sheahan also had attention around her campaign. But Merrin came out on top, and now Republicans get the matchup they were looking for.
To be perfectly honest, I would still not bet against Marcy Kaptur. I do not care how the district looks on paper. I do not care how much money Republicans raise. I do not care how many times people say this is the year she is finally vulnerable. People have been trying to take her down for a long time, and she is still standing.
The Attorney General and Secretary of State Races
In the attorney general race, Democratic-endorsed candidate John Kulewicz won the nomination and will face Keith Faber in November.
To be perfectly honest, I think Elliot Forhan overperformed statewide. Considering the easily Googleable baggage attached to him, rightfully or wrongfully, I was surprised by how well he did overall. But in Cuyahoga County, where he is more known, he got trounced. That tells you something too. Sometimes familiarity helps. Sometimes familiarity hurts.
The Secretary of State race was the one that surprised me more. Allison Russo beat Bryan Hambley pretty decisively.
That one deserves an autopsy.
Hambley’s support seemed extremely robust. He raised real money. He had grassroots energy. He had people talking. He looked, at least from the outside, like someone who could make the race close or maybe even pull off the upset.
And then he got beat by a lot.
That does not mean the campaign was fake. It does not mean the support was meaningless. But it does mean we need to be honest about the limits of online enthusiasm, grassroots visibility, and fundraising when you are going up against the party-insider candidate. Russo is now headed to November against Robert Sprague, and that race will be one to watch.
Congrats!
Congratulations to everyone who ran. Seriously. Running for office is hard. Putting your name on a ballot is hard. Taking criticism, raising money, knocking doors, answering questions, and asking people to trust you is hard.
And congratulations to the winners who are now moving on to November.
Now it is time for the party to back the Democratic candidates. Ohio is still a heavily gerrymandered state, and these races are still uphill battles. Winning a primary is one thing. Winning in November is something else entirely. There is a lot more work ahead.
Over the next couple of months, we are going to keep analyzing these races. We are going to look at what happened, what worked, what did not, where the money went, where outside spending mattered, where endorsements mattered, and where voters made their own decisions despite all of it. And trust me, we are still going to call balls and strikes when it comes to spending, strategy, messaging, and anything else that happens along the way.
That is the point of The Angry Democrat. It is to make sure the conversation keeps flowing, even when that conversation is uncomfortable, and even when it is about our own party.
But in the meantime...
Thanks for the morning after summary!