Heart of the Primaries, Republicans-Special Edition 3 (May 9, 2018)
In this special post-primary edition: Pittenger is first congressional incumbent to lose a primary; Braun and Morrissey set for competitive Senate challenges in November, Householder-backed candidates win in Ohio state House primaries
Here are the results of the May 8 primaries so far...
Harris defeats incumbent Rep. Pittenger
Challenger Mark Harris defeated incumbent Rep. Robert Pittenger (R) in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District primary, making Pittenger the first House incumbent to lose a primary this year.
The race was a rematch of the 2016 Republican primary. Pittenger won that contest by 134 votes.
Both candidates embraced President Trump in a district Trump carried by just under 12 points in 2016.
Harris said Pittenger was not conservative enough for the district and criticized Pittenger’s vote in favor of the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill.
Harris will face Democrat Dan McCready in the general election.
McCready raised over $600,000 in the first quarter of 2018, and reported having over $1 million on hand at the end of March. Harris reported having less than $75,000 in cash on hand as of the same date.
Morrisey wins expensive West Virginia Senate race
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R) defeated coal mining executive Don Blankenship (R) and Rep. Evan Jenkins (R) for the GOP Senate nomination.
Satellite groups spent more than $4 million on the race, including Mountain Families PAC and Duty and Country PAC, which have ties to the Republican and Democratic national parties, respectively.
Blankenship, who served a year in prison for conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards, spent more than $3 million of his own money in the race.
In a Monday Twitter post, President Donald Trump (R) urged residents to “Vote Rep. Jenkins or A.G. Morrisey” because of concerns Blankenship would be unable to defeat incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin (D) in November.
Blankenship said he would consider an independent run for the seat, but West Virginia law prevents any candidate who participated in a primary for a recognized political party from running again as a third party or independent candidate.
Braun defeats two House members in Indiana Senate primary
Former state Rep. Mike Braun (R) defeated U.S. Reps. Luke Messer (R-Ind.) and Todd Rokita (R-Ind.) in the Indiana Senate primary.
Braun saturated the airwaves, spending more than $4 million on his campaign to increase his name recognition and paint Messer and Rokita as interchangeable carbon copies. Braun presented himself as a businessman and outsider.
The three candidates accused one another of disloyalty to President Donald Trump (R) and the Republican Party, as well as exchanging charges of ethics violations and state residency issues.
Braun will face incumbent Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) in the general election.
Pence wins IN-06 primary
Greg Pence, the older brother of Vice President Mike Pence, defeated four other candidates in Indiana’s 6th District Republican primary.
Pence won more than 65 percent of the vote.
Rep. Luke Messer (R) previously represented the District, but decided to run for the Senate rather than re-election. Republicans are expected to keep the seat in the general election.
DeWine defeats Taylor for Ohio gubernatorial nod
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine (R) defeated Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor (R) by 20 percentage points in the Republican gubernatorial primary.
DeWine and Taylor both campaigned as the more conservative candidate, with Taylor’s campaign ads referring to DeWine as "too liberal for Ohio" while DeWine’s ads described Taylor as a career politician.
Balderson beats Leneghan in OH-12 in proxy fight between Main Street and the Freedom Caucus
State Sen. Troy Balderson (R) defeated businesswoman Melanie Leneghan (R) by 652 votes in the Republican special primary election for Ohio's 12th Congressional District.
Incumbent Rep. Patrick Tiberi (R) resigned in January, creating an open seat for the first time in 18 years.
Tiberi endorsed Balderson and Defending Main Street spent $240,000 on ads supporting Balderson in April.
Leneghan garnered endorsements from the House Freedom Caucus and Reps. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).
Balderson will face Franklin County Recorder Danny O'Connor (D) in the Aug. 7 special election.
Gonzales defeats Hagan in OH-16
In a race seen as a proxy battle between House Republican leadership and the House Freedom Caucus, leadership-backed Anthony Gonzalez beat Freedom Caucus-supported state Rep. Christina Hagan in the Republican primary for Ohio’s 16th District.
U.S. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who is angling to become the next House speaker, backed Gonzalez, a former Ohio State football player.
The Freedom Caucus and former Trump administration officials Anthony Scaramucci and Sebastian Gorka endorsed Hagan.
Incumbent Jim Renacci (R) did not seek re-election in order to run for U.S. Senate.
Householder-backed candidates dominate Ohio state House primaries
Ohio Rep. Larry Householder’s preferred candidates won at least 14 of the 29 contested state House Republican primaries Tuesday. The victories may result in Householder’s return as Ohio’s House speaker in 2019.
Candidates aligned with Householder’s chief rival for the speaker’s job, state Rep. Ryan Smith, won just three races.
Householder previously served as speaker in the early 2000s. His current speakership bid is supported by labor unions, energy companies, and donors aligned with Donald Trump.
Jones wins NC-03 primary
Incumbent Rep. Walter Jones (R) fended off two challengers in North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District primary.
Opponents Scott Dacey and Phil Law had both criticized Jones’ deviation from President Trump’s agenda.
Jones’ primary victory all but guarantees his re-election in November as no Democrats filed for the seat.
Baird nominated for Rokita’s seat in IN-04
State Rep. Jim Baird (R) won Indiana’s 4th Congressional District Republican primary for Rep. Todd Rokita's (R) former seat.
Baird topped the seven-candidate field with 36.4 percent of the vote. Former state Rep. Steve Braun (R) won 29.5 percent and former Mike Pence aide Diego Morales' (R) finished third with 15 percent.
Both Braun and Morales emphasized their ties to former Gov. Pence — Braun had served as Pence's director of workforce development, while Morales worked in the governor's office of community relations.
Baird, who joined Morales and Braun in expressing his support for President Trump on the campaign trail, emphasized his military background and economic policies.
Miller wins nomination in WV-03
State Del. Carol Miller (R) won the Republican primary for Rep. Evan Jenkins' (R) seat in West Virginia's 3rd Congressional District with 22.6 percent of the vote.
State Dels. Rupert Phillips (R) and Marty Gearheart (R) finished with 20 percent and 18.8 percent of the vote, respectively.
Both Miller and former Republican Party of West Virginia Chairman Conrad Lucas (R), who received 17.8 percent of the vote, emphasized their support for President Trump throughout the campaign.
State legislative incumbents go down across the map
Twelve Republican state legislators in four states lost their primaries Tuesday night. That compares to five incumbents lost in 2016, while nine lost in 2014. Here’s how the losses breakdown by state.
North Carolina
The five incumbent losses in North Carolina were at least partially due to new district lines that were established after a federal court ruled the 2016 boundaries were racially gerrymandered.
The defeated incumbents were: state Sens. Dan Barrett, David Curtis, and Shirley Randleman, and state Reps. Beverley Boswell and Justin Burr.
Barrett and Randleman were running against fellow incumbents Joyce Kraweic and Deanna Ballard, respectively, due to the redrawn district maps.
State Sen. Dan Bishop, the author of the state’s now-repealed bathroom bill, survived a primary challenge from Beth Monaghan, an opponent of the bill.
Indiana
State Sen. Joseph Zakas, a social conservative, lost to Linda Rogers, who was supported by the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
Another social conservative, state Sen. Mike Delph, survived a similar primary challenge from Chamber-backed candidate Corrie Meyer.
State Rep. Richard Hamm also lost his primary bid to Bradford Barrett.
West Virginia
Four incumbents lost: state Sens. Mark Drennan, Lynne Arvon, and Roberts Karnes, and state Del. Chanda Adkins.
Ohio
Incumbent Wes Rutherford (R), a Ryan Smith ally, was defeated by Sara Carruthers, a Larry Householder ally.
Up next
Up next: May 15 statewide primaries in Idaho, Nebraska, Oregon, and Pennsylvania. Stories to watch include...
- Two Trump-touting candidates hope to replace Tuesday Group member Charlie Dent (R) in Pennsylvania's 7th.
- Ellsworth, Mango, and Wagner square off to challenge Tom Wolf (D) for Pennsylvania governor.
- A race to replace Raul Labrador (R) in Idaho's 1st.
