2014 elections review: Recapping state legislative primaries in three states
May 6, 2014
By Ballotpedia's State legislative team
On May 6, 2014, primary elections took place in Indiana, North Carolina and Ohio. Of the 411 seats up for election in 2014, 129 (31.4%) had contested primaries. Sixty-six (51.2%) of those contested primaries featured an incumbent. Ten (15.2%) incumbents, three Democrats and seven Republicans, lost their primary election.
Indiana
May 6 elections in Indiana saw a total of 25 state legislative primaries. Contests were held for one Democratic primary and nine Republican primaries in the Indiana State Senate. The Indiana House of Representatives held one Democratic primary and fourteen Republican primaries. In those elections, eleven incumbents faced primary competition; two in the Senate and nine in the House. Challengers defeated one incumbent in the Senate and two incumbents in the House in the primary elections.
| Contested Primaries in Indiana -- May 6, 2014 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Senate (25 seats) |
State House (100 seats) | ||||
| Total Democratic Contested Primaries | 1 (4.0%) | 1 (1.0%) | |||
| Total Republican Contested Primaries | 9 (36.0%) | 15 (15.0%) | |||
Senate
Ten primary contests were held in the Indiana State Senate. One incumbent, John M. Waterman (R), lost his primary, while the other incumbent facing a primary, James W. Merritt, Jr. (R), won.
- District 15: Liz Brown won a four-way Republican primary by less than 400 votes in the race to succeed Thomas Wyss (R). Jack E. Morris was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
- District 31: Incumbent James W. Merritt, Jr. (R) defeated Crystal D. LaMotte in the Republican primary. No Democratic candidate filed to run.
- District 38: Jon Ford defeated John D. Carson in the Republican primary by less than 200 votes. Incumbent Tim Skinner was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
- District 39: Incumbent John M. Waterman (R) was defeated by Eric Bassler in the Republican primary. No Democratic candidate filed to run.
| Indiana State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 3, 2014 | After November 4, 2014 | |
| Democratic Party | 13 | 10 | |
| Republican Party | 37 | 40 | |
| Total | 50 | 50 | |
House
Fourteen primary contests were held in the Indiana House of Representatives. Nine incumbents, all Republicans, faced primary competition. Two incumbents, Rebecca Kubacki (R) and Kathy Heuer (R), were defeated in their primaries.
- District 22: Incumbent Rebecca Kubacki was defeated by Curt Nisly in the Republican primary. David C. Kolbe (D) will face Nisly in the general election.
- District 48: Doug Miller won a three-way Republican primary by just over 100 votes in the race to succeed Timothy Neese (R). No Democratic candidate filed to run.
- District 83: Steven J. Hively defeated incumbent Kathy Heuer and Christopher N. Judy in the Republican primary. No Democratic candidate filed to run.
- District 84: Incumbent Bob Morris defeated Michael Barranda by 250 votes in the Republican primary. Fred Haigh was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
| Indiana House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 3, 2014 | After November 4, 2014 | |
| Democratic Party | 31 | 29 | |
| Republican Party | 69 | 71 | |
| Total | 100 | 100 | |
North Carolina
May 6 elections in North Carolina saw a total of 52 state legislative primaries. Contests were held for eleven Democratic primaries and nine Republican primaries in the North Carolina State Senate. The North Carolina House of Representatives held 11 Democratic primaries and 21 Republican primaries. In those elections, 28 incumbents faced primary competition; 9 in the Senate and 19 in the House. Challengers defeated one incumbent in the Senate and three incumbents in the House in the primary elections.
| Contested Primaries in North Carolina -- May 6, 2014 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Senate (50 seats) |
State House (120 seats) | ||||
| Total Democratic Contested Primaries | 11 (22%) | 11 (9.1%) | |||
| Total Republican Contested Primaries | 9 (18%) | 21 (18%) | |||
Senate
Twenty primary contests were held in the North Carolina State Senate. Eight out of the nine incumbents with primary competition defeated their challengers. Incumbent Clark Jenkins (D) was defeated in his primary.
- District 3: Incumbent Clark Jenkins was defeated by Erica Smith-Ingram in the Democratic primary by 1,832 votes.
- District 22: Milton Holmes defeated Herman Joubert in the Republican primary by only 187 votes. Incumbent Mike Woodard was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
- District 49: Mark Crawford defeated R.L. Clark and Clarence Young in the Republican primary. Crawford beat Clark by less than 200 votes. Senator-elect Terry Van Duyn was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
| North Carolina State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 3, 2014 | After November 4, 2014 | |
| Democratic Party | 17 | 16 | |
| Republican Party | 33 | 34 | |
| Total | 50 | 50 | |
House
Thirty-two primary contests were held in the North Carolina House of Representatives. Nineteen incumbents faced primary competition. Three incumbents, Annie Mobley (D), Roger Younts (R) and C. Robert Brawley (R), were defeated in their primaries.
- District 5: Incumbent Annie Mobley was defeated by Howard Hunter III in the Democratic primary. Hunter defeated the incumbent by over 1,500 votes.
- District 6: Mattie Lawson defeated Ashley Woolard in the Republican primary by less than 400 votes. Incumbent Paul Tine was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
- District 80: Incumbent Roger Younts was defeated by Sam Watford in the Republican primary by 536 votes.
- District 95 Incumbent C. Robert Brawley was defeated by John Fraley in the Republican primary by only 105 votes.
| North Carolina House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 3, 2014 | After November 4, 2014 | |
| Democratic Party | 43 | 46 | |
| Republican Party | 77 | 74 | |
| Total | 120 | 120 | |
Ohio
May 6 elections in Ohio saw a total of 52 state legislative primaries. Contests were held for four Democratic primaries and six Republican primaries in the Ohio State Senate. The Ohio House of Representatives held 13 Democratic primaries and 29 Republican primaries. In those elections, 27 incumbents faced primary competition; 5 in the Senate and 22 in the House. Challengers defeated three incumbents in the House in the primary elections.
| Contested Primaries in Ohio -- May 6, 2014 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Senate (17 seats) |
State House (99 seats) | ||||
| Total Democratic Contested Primaries | 4 (24%) | 13 (13.1%) | |||
| Total Republican Contested Primaries | 6 (35.2%) | 29 (29.2%) | |||
Senate
- See also: Ohio State Senate elections, 2014
Ten primary contests were held in the Ohio State Senate. All five incumbents with primary competition defeated their challengers.
- District 1: Incumbent Cliff Hite defeated Milo Schaffner and Corey Shankleton in the Republican primary. No Democratic candidate filed to run.
- District 3: Incumbent Kevin Bacon defeated Kevin Solveson in the Republican primary. The winner of that election will face Star Johnson (D) in the general election.
- District 7: Incumbent Shannon Jones defeated Kelly Kohls in the Republican primary. The winner of that election will face Jimmy Allen (D) in the general election.
- District 9: Jacqueline Mikita ran unopposed in the Republican primary, while Cecil Thomas defeated Paul Sohi, Rep. Dale Mallory, Catherine Ingram, Joe Hye and Angela Beamon in the Democratic primary. Thomas defeated House incumbent Mallory by 550 votes.
- District 27: Incumbent Frank LaRose defeated Caleb Davenport in the Republican primary. The winner of that election will face George Rusiska (D) in the general election.
- District 29: Incumbent Scott Oelslager defeated Dennis Harbert in the Republican primary. The winner of that election will face Connie Rubin (D) in the general election.
| Ohio State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 3, 2014 | After November 4, 2014 | |
| Democratic Party | 10 | 10 | |
| Republican Party | 23 | 23 | |
| Total | 33 | 33 | |
House
Forty-two primary contests were held in the Ohio House of Representatives. Twenty-two incumbents faced primary competition. Three incumbents, Peter Stautberg (R), Zack Milkovich (D) and Peter Beck (R), were defeated in their primaries. One district, District 28, is still too close to call.
- District 27: Incumbent Peter Stautberg was defeated by Tom Brinkman Jr. in the Republican primary by 659 votes. The winner of that election will face Joe Otis (D) in the general election.
- District 28: Micah Kamrass was unopposed in the Democratic primary, while Jonathan Dever faced off against Kimberly Angel Clark and Rick Bryan in the Republican primary. Unofficial results put Dever 79 votes ahead of Bryan.
- District 35: Incumbent Zack Milkovich was defeated by Greta Johnson in the Democratic primary by 307 votes. The winner of that election will face Linda Robinson (R) in the general election.
- District 54: Incumbent Peter Beck was defeated by Paul Zeltwanger in the Republican primary by 840 votes. The winner of that election will face Rick Smith (D) in the general election.
- District 88: William F. Reineke, Jr. defeated Rhonda Damschroder and Richard Geyer in the Republican primary, while William E. Young was unopposed in the Democratic primary. Reineke defeated Damschroder by over 500 votes.
| Ohio House of Representatives | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 3, 2014 | After November 4, 2014 | |
| Democratic Party | 38 | 34 | |
| Republican Party | 60 | 65 | |
| Vacancy | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 99 | 99 | |
See also
- Indiana State Senate elections, 2014
- Indiana House of Representatives elections, 2014
- North Carolina State Senate elections, 2014
- North Carolina House of Representatives elections, 2014
- Ohio State Senate elections, 2014
- Ohio House of Representatives elections, 2014
Footnotes
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