House race in Ohio too close to call
Recount looms as Trump pronounces ‘great victory’
WESTERVILLE, Ohio — A special congressional election that tested President Donald Trump’s clout and cost both parties millions of dollars in battleground Ohio was too close to call early Wednesday. Trump claimed victory nevertheless.
The president took credit for Republican Troy Balderson’s performance, calling it “a great victory,” even though the contest could be headed to a mandatory recount. Democrat Danny O’connor, trailing in the latest count, vowed: “We’re not stopping now.”
The candidates were locked in a razor-thin race, which they will reprise in the general election in just three months. There were at least 3,367 provisional ballots left to be reviewed. That’s enough for O’connor to potentially pick up enough to force a recount.
The winner takes the seat previously held by Pat Tiberi, a nine-term incumbent who resigned to take a job with an Ohio business group. Balderson and O’connor will face off again in November to see who holds the seat in 2019 and 2020.
The Associated Press does not declare winners in races subject to an automatic recount.
The Republican president’s shadow also loomed over primary contests in four other states, none bigger than Kansas, where Republicans were fighting among themselves in a battle for governor.
Secretary of State Kris Kobach was trying to unseat Gov. Jeff Colyer. Should Kobach win the primary, some Republican operatives fear he could lose the governor’s seat to Democrats this fall. The race could become further disrupted if Kansas City-area businessman Greg Orman makes it onto the November ballot. He submitted petitions Monday with more than 10,000 signatures for what could become the most serious independent run for Kansas governor in decades.
Trump made his preference clear for Kobach.
“He is a fantastic guy who loves his State and our Country - he will be a GREAT Governor and has my full & total Endorsement! Strong on Crime, Border & Military,” the president tweeted on the eve of the election. “VOTE TUESDAY!”
In Michigan, three mainstream Democrats in suburban Detroit were among those vying for a chance at retiring Republican Rep. Dave Trott’s seat in November. The field included Fayrouz Saad, who would be the first Muslim woman in Congress.
Also in Michigan, Democratic Sen. Debbie Stabenow will take on military veteran and business executive John James, who won the Republican nomination. He would join Tim Scott of South Carolina as the only black Republican senators if he wins in November.
In Missouri, Democratic Sen. Claire Mccaskill claimed her party’s nomination, while state Attorney General Josh Hawley will represent the GOP.
Missouri voters also rejected a right-to-work law against compulsory union fees that had been passed by Republican state officials but placed on hold for more than a year after organized labor petitioned for a referendum.
National and local labor unions spent millions of dollars to defeat Proposition A, hoping to reverse the momentum against them from a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling and the adoption of similar laws limiting labor powers in other historically strong union states.
And in Washington, three suburban Seattle Democrats vied in a jungle primary for the seat held by retiring Republican Rep. Dave Reichert.
Democrat Kim Schrier was narrowly leading other Democrats in early returns in Washington’s 8th District Congressional primary as she sought to be the first member of her party ever to win the seat.
Schrier, a pediatrician, was coming in second place in early votes Tuesday, with fellow Democrat Jason Rittereiser, a labor-rights lawyer, a close third.
Also in Washington, Democratic U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell and Republican Susan Hutchison will face off in November.