INDIANAPOLIS – Conservatives seeking to push the Republican-controlled Indiana Legislature further to the right are trying to unseat several GOP lawmakers in their primaries.
About two dozen so-called liberty candidates are in Republican legislative races across the state on Tuesday. Their targets are several top-ranking members of the Republican-dominated House.
The challengers say the Legislature hasn’t been aggressive enough in trying to ban abortion, enhance gun rights and overturn coronavirus pandemic restrictions ordered by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb.
Republican legislative leaders argue the “no compromise” stances adopted by many challengers aren’t practical and tout many conservative successes.
Unlike in Ohio’s Republican primaries, the Indiana legislative contests have focused on state issues rather than on which candidate is closest to former President Donald Trump or has his support.
Tuesday’s primary races mark the first multistate contest of the 2022 midterm season and will serve as the most clarifying test to date of Trump’s ongoing influence in his party more than a year after leaving office under the cloud of two impeachments and the Jan. 6 insurrection.
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The midterm election season begins in earnest Tuesday with primaries in Indiana and Ohio. Ohio’s hotly contested Republican Senate race will test the enduring power of former President Donald Trump‘s influence, as his endorsed candidate, JD Vance, competes against six others for the GOP nomination for the seat held by retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman. Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine also faces a primary challenge on Tuesday.
HERE’S WHAT TO WATCH:
2022 midterms: What to know about Ohio, Indiana primaries
Trump’s bid to shape GOP faces test with voters in May races
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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:
CLEVELAND – Democratic Ohio congresswoman Shontel Brown is again facing progressive activist and former state lawmaker Nina Turner in a primary in Cleveland. Brown topped Turner in a special election just last summer.
The rematch pits one of the left’s rising stars against a new U.S. House incumbent backed by the more moderate Democratic establishment. The contest will provide another key litmus test of the progressive movement’s Rust Belt clout during congressional primaries in Ohio and Indiana on Tuesday.
Two candidates endorsed by former President Donald Trump are favored to secure GOP nominations for open House seats elsewhere in Ohio. Nine Republicans are competing for Indiana’s lone open House seat.
Tuesday’s primary races mark the first multistate contest of the 2022 midterm season and will serve as the most clarifying test to date of Trump’s ongoing influence in his party more than a year after leaving office under the cloud of two impeachments and the Jan. 6 insurrection.
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – One of the most contentious and closely watched U.S. Senate primaries in the country takes place in Ohio.
Republicans will vote Tuesday to decide a race that’s an early referendum on former President Donald Trump’s hold on the GOP as the midterm primary season kicks into high gear.
Author and venture capitalist JD Vance is well positioned in the Republican race to replace retiring Republican Sen. Rob Portman after receiving Trump’s support. The bitter and expensive contest saw two candidates nearly come to blows on a debate stage.
The winner is likely to face 10-term Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan, who’s distanced himself from the progressive wing of his party ahead of what’s expected to be a brutal 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.
And in Indiana, 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.
Tuesday’s primary races mark the first multistate contest of the 2022 midterm season and will serve as the most clarifying test to date of Trump’s ongoing influence in his party more than a year after leaving office under the cloud of two impeachments and the Jan. 6 insurrection.
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TOLEDO, Ohio – Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine faces a test of the far right’s sway as he seeks another term in office.
DeWine lost the backing of some conservative groups angry over his aggressive coronavirus pandemic policies but remains the favorite in Tuesday’s primary. He’s up against three far-right challengers, including former congressman Jim Renacci.
DeWine’s performance in the primary will provide a gauge of how far to the right his party has shifted under the influence of former President Donald Trump.
Ohio’s Democrats are deciding between former Cincinnati mayor John Cranley and former Dayton mayor Nan Whaley for their nominee for governor. Democrats haven’t won the governor’s office in nearly 16 years.
Whaley would be the first woman in Ohio’s history to receive a major party’s backing for governor.
In Indiana, 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.
Tuesday’s primary races mark the first multistate contest of the 2022 midterm season and will serve as the most clarifying test to date of Trump’s ongoing influence in his party more than a year after leaving office under the cloud of two impeachments and the Jan. 6 insurrection.
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Follow AP for full coverage of the midterms at https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ap_politics.
