Primary Recap: Ohio Special Election; Kansas GOP Gov. Remain Undecided
By 270toWin Staff
August 8, 2018
Results overview for the four state primaries and the Ohio special election held Tuesday August 7th.
Ohio 12th District Special Election
Republican Troy Balderson has a narrow lead over Democrat Danny O'Connor, with several thousand provisional and absentee ballots still to be counted. Balderson - and President Trump - have claimed victory, but the Associated Press says the race remains too close to call as of Wednesday morning. Oddly, the provisional ballots won't be counted for 10 days. If the final margin is less than 0.5%, there will be an automatic recount. The table below will show the latest results.
Regardless of who wins, the closeness of the race in this Republican-leaning district continues the trend of Democratic over performance in elections since Trump took office. Balderson and O'Connor will meet again in the November general election.
Kansas
Trump-endorsed Secretary of State Kris Kobach and the current Kansas Gov. Jeff Colyer were separated by just 0.1% - less than 200 votes - as of Wednesday morning. This race is also too close to call as of the time of this article. See the table below for the latest:
While either candidate will start out the favorite against Democratic nominee Laura Kelly, a Kobach victory would increase the odds for a Democratic takeover of this seat.
The Democratic nomination in the 3rd congressional district also remains undecided, with Sharice Davids and Brent Welder separated by 1%. Davids is attempting to become the first Native American woman elected to Congress. The winner will face incumbent Republican Kevin Yoder in what is expected to be a highly competitive general election race in this Omaha-area district.
All Kansas Primary Election Results
Michigan
Primary voter turnout was the heaviest in at least 40 years. Republican Bill Schuette and Democrat Gretchen Whitmer won their respective nominations. The general election is seen as a toss-up.
In the Senate race, incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow will meet Republican John James, who won his primary with the help of a presidential endorsement. Stabenow is favored to win a 4th term in November.
Rashida Tlaib is expected to win the general election primary in Michigan's deep-blue 13th congressional district. She will run unopposed in November, and will become the first Muslim woman elected to Congress.
All Michigan Primary Election Results
Missouri
As expected, incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill and Missouri Atty. General Josh Hawley easily won their primaries. This sets up a highly competitive general election in a state Donald Trump won by nearly 20 points
Missouri voters said "No" on Proposition A, a referendum on the right-to-work law passed by the Legislature. As a result, right-to-work has been rejected.
All Missouri Primary Election Results
Washington
Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell and Republican Susan Hutchison won the state's top-two Senate primary. Cantwell is expected to win a 4th term in November. The closeness of the aggregate party vote in the GOP-held 3rd and 5th districts indicates these races may be more competitive than expected in November. In top-two primaries, aggregate party vote has proved to be a good indicator of general election outcomes.
In the 3rd district, aggregate Democratic vote actually exceeded the Republican vote by a 50.3% to 49.7% margin. Contrast this to 2016, where incumbent Jaime Herrera Beutler won a 4th term by nearly 24%. Donald Trump prevailed by 7% over Hillary Clinton here.
In the 5th district, seven-term incumbent Cathy McMorris Rodgers, who is the 4th most powerful Republican in the House, won by 19% in 2016, while Donald Trump won by 13%. In Tuesday's primary, aggregate Republican vote was 50.5% while the one Democrat on the ballot received 47.1%.
