Voters to decide Ohio’s heated Senate primary

Ohio Republicans were casting their ballots Tuesday in one of the most contentious and closely watched Senate primaries in the U.S., deciding a race that is seen as an early referendum on former President Donald Trump’s hold on the GOP as the midterm primary season kicks into high gear.

Meanwhile, polls were closing in parts of Indiana, where more than a dozen state House members are trying to hold off Republican primary challengers who want to push the Legislature further to the right.

In Ohio, author and venture capitalist JD Vance is seen as the frontrunner in the Republican race to replace retiring Sen. Rob Portman after receiving Trump’s latestage support, capping a bitter and expensive contest that, at one point, saw two candidates nearly come to blows on a debate stage. The winner is likely to face 10term Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, who has distanced himself from the progressive wing of his party ahead of what is expected to be a difficult year for Democrats seeking to hold their congressional majorities.

Incumbent Republican Gov. Mike DeWine appears on track to secure his party’s nomination for another term, despite backlash from conservatives over COVID-19 shutdowns and mandates.

Tuesday marks the first multistate contest of the 2022 campaign and comes the day after the leak of a draft U.S. Supreme Court opinion that suggests the court could be poised to overturn the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. Such a decision could have a dramatic impact on the course of the midterms, when control of Congress, governors’ mansions and key elections offices are at stake.