05/07/2026

Ohio May 5 Primary Election Recap 

In yesterday’s primary election, there were no surprises at the top of the statewide ticket in Ohio, as favored candidates from both political parties cruised to victory facing only token opposition from challengers. However, things were far different in races for the Ohio Statehouse, as numerous hotly contested primary match ups took place for seats in the Ohio House of Representatives and Ohio Senate.  

Governor 

Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Lt. Governor running mate Rob McColley easily notched a primary victory over fellow Republican Casey Putsch and LG candidate Kimberly Georgeton. This primary was not expected to be close, and it was not, as the well-financed Ramaswamy trounced Putsch pulling in 82.5% of Republican votes compared to just 17.46% for the Putsch ticket with 94% of precincts reporting. The Associated Press called the race for Ramaswamy less than 10 minutes after the polls closed at 7:30 p.m.  

In November, Ramaswamy will face Democrat Dr. Amy Acton and her Lt. Governor running mate David Pepper, as the Acton-Pepper ticket was unopposed and has the benefit of preserving precious campaign resources for the fall.  

While Ramaswamy is still considered the favorite by many to win this race in November, numerous polls conducted recently have shown the Ramaswamy-Acton race to be very close, as each candidate has been narrowly favored in several of the conducted polls. 

Attorney General 

Democrat John Kulewicz easily defeated former State Representative Elliot Forhan to become the official Democratic nominee for Attorney General. Kulewicz pulled 63% of the vote in the Democratic primary with Forhan picking up 36.9%. Kulewicz is well-known around Capitol Square from his time serving as an attorney at a prominent Columbus law firm while Forhan left the legislature after a rocky tenure representing his Cleveland legislative district. 

Kulewicz will face Republican Keith Faber, the current state Auditor, who ran unopposed in the primary. Facing no primary challenge, Faber has been able to focus on fundraising and has amassed a war chest of nearly $2.5 million heading into the fall election. Faber served two four-year terms as state Auditor and was President of the Ohio Senate and elected to several terms in the Ohio House.  

Secretary of State 

As expected, Republican Robert Sprague defeated fellow Republican Marcell Strbich by a commanding 70-30% margin. The current two-term State Treasurer and former Ohio House member had solid name recognition in Republican party circles and was able to put away Strbich by spending money to hit the airwaves with campaign commercials emphasizing his conservative credentials.  

Meanwhile, in the Democrat primary for Treasurer, former Ohio House Democratic Leader Allison Russo of Columbus easily dispatched Cincinnati-based physician Bryan Hambley, as Russo pulled in 67.5% of the Democratic vote. Many observers thought this could be a much tighter race, but Russo gained a large lead early and held that margin of victory throughout the evening. 

Treasurer 

The matchup between Republicans Jay Edwards and Kristina Roegner offered one of the more compelling contests of the night. Edwards, a former State Representative and House Finance Committee chairman, defeated Roegner, who is serving her final term in the Ohio Senate. Edwards touted the endorsement from Vice President J.D. Vance while Roegner leaned on the endorsements of current House Speaker Matt Huffman, Senate President Rob McColley and numerous Republican County Party Chairman. With 96% of precincts reporting, Edwards looks to have defeated Roegner, a term-limited state Senator, by a margin of 53%-47%. Edwards moves on to take on Democrat Cincinnati City Councilman Democrat Seth Walsh who ran unopposed in the primary. 

Supreme Court of Ohio 

In the only contested primary for the state’s highest court, Republican Colleen O’Donnell outlasted three other challengers for the chance to run for the bench in November. With 100% of precincts reporting O’Donnell had 32.5% of the votes while her closest competitor Andrew King stands at 29.7%. There are still 11,851 military, absentee and provisional ballots yet to count so the result in this race could change slightly. If her lead holds, O’Donnell will face off against current Democrat Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner, who was unopposed in her primary.  Brunner holds the only Democrat seat currently on the Ohio Supreme Court. 

Ohio Senate 

1st District: In one of the closest contests of the night Republican Craig Riedel clings to a 856 vote lead over Rep. Jim Hoops in this open northwest Ohio district. Hancock County, a battleground in this heavily Republican district, went for Riedel by a 58%-42% margin and Hoops was not able to overcome this in the other counties in the sprawling district. Riedel is also a former state Representative who also ran unsuccessfully for Congress.  

7th District: Republican Zac Haines cruised to victory in this open seat to succeed term limited Sen. Steve Wilson beating Kim Lukens by an impressive 77.3%-22.6% margin.  

19th  District: In one of the more hard-fought primary contests of this election cycle Republican Rep. Beth Lear, who was hoping to succeed term limited Sen. Andy Brenner, appears to have lost to Ryan Rivers, a former Orange Township Trustee. Both candidates and the dark money groups that backed them filled mailboxes throughout this Delaware County district lobbing negative messaging at each other. In the end, Rivers emerged victoriously by a narrow 52-48 margin. 

25th District: Democrat Senator Bill DeMora of Columbus drew a primary as fellow Democrat Jesse Baker took on the long-time political operative. DeMora won his first term after holding a place on the ballot and expecting to be replaced by another candidate. DeMora was ultimately able to easily dispatch Baker by a roughly 56%-44% margin. DeMora will go on to win this central Ohio district that has a Democratic margin of nearly 65%. 

Ohio House 

Even as the dust settles on upwards of 25 contested primaries in the Ohio House and candidates turn their attention to the fall contest, one thing remains certain: Speaker Matt Huffman (R-Lima) will remain in control of the chamber. Republicans currently hold enjoy a 65-34 super majority that Democrats can only hope to make a dent in this election cycle. Still there was a lot of drama on primarynight.  

HD 2: Democrats Charity Martin King and Michael Cole squared off in this Franklin County district that covers much of Columbus in hopes of succeeding Rep. Latyna Humphrey who opted to run for the Ohio Senate. King, who was backed by Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginter, prevailed by a 66-44 margin.  

HD 7: In this suburban Franklin County district Ukeme Awakessien Jeter emerged from a three-way Democratic primary taking 43.5% of the vote. Jeter was backed by Rep. Allison Russo, a former Minority Leader in the House, who is running for Secretary of State. This district is expected to remain in the Democrat column after the November general election. 

HD 12: Rep. Brian Stewart, who served as chair of the powerful House Finance Committee, won a Republican primary against Patty Hamilton by a 58-42 margin. Stewart will keep this district Red.  

HD 18: Davida Russell emerged victorious from a four-way Democratic primary to replace Rep. Juanita Brent (D-Cleveland) Brent was unable to run for another two-year term due to term limits. Russell will coast to a win in this heavily Democratic district.  

HD 19: In another four-way Democratic primary that included one write in candidate, Nicole Sigurdson won the day with 42% of the vote. This seat will stay in the Blue column.  

HD 20: former Rep. Eugene Miller looks to make a return to the Statehouse after besting three fellow Democrats in another seat that is favors Democrats with a margin around 90%. 

HD 31: Republican Mike Kahoe, who had the backing of the House Republican Campaign Committee, took care of business in this Summit County district beating fellow Republican Stephanie Stock by a 65-35 margin. Term-limited Rep. Bill Roemer (R-Richfield) was able to keep this seat in the Republican column two years ago despite a political index that slightly favors Democrats. This will be a seat that Democrats target in hopes of flipping to the Blue column. Democrat Noah Spinner of Cuyahoga Falls waits in the wings to take on Kahoe.  

HD 35: In another toss-up district that favors the GOP by less than 52 points, Democrat Samantha Salamon narrowly edged Molly Kudley Schneider and will take on Republican Vik Sandhu of Twinsburg. Current Rep. Steve Demetriou (R-Bainbridge Twp) is running for the Ohio Senate.  

HD 40: Rep. Rodney Creech (R-West Alexandria) looks to keep his seat after beating former Rep. J. Todd Smith by a margin of 58-42. This district has a Republican political index over 74%.  

HD 44: With current Republican Rep. Josh Williams jumping into the 9th Congressional primary, fellow Republicans Ed Schimmel and John Rozic competed for a chance to keep this seat Red. Schimmel, mayor of Northwood, prevailed picking up roughly 64% of the Republican vote.  

HD 48: Former Rep. Christina Hagan looks to make a return to the Ohio House after emerging from a four-way contest. She captured 47.5% of the vote to replace term limited Rep. Scott Oelslager. Oelslager has defied term limits serving in the House and Senate almost continuously since first being appointed to a vacancy in 1985. His long run of public service in the legislature will come to an end.  

HD 54: With Rep. Joe Miller (D-Amherst) eyeing a seat in the Ohio Senate, Democrats Matt Lundy and Dan Nutt battled it out for a chance to keep this seat in the Democratic column. Lundy is a former state Representative, while Nutt sits on the Lorain City Council. In the end, Lundy won the day with about 74% of the vote.  

HD 58: John Boccieri, a former congressman and state representative, will have a chance to make a return appearance at the Statehouse after taking down two other Democrats. Boccieri will face Republican Heather Fronk of Poland in a district that leans Democrat.  

HD 60: Rep. Brian Lorenz (R-Powell) easily dispatched fellow Republican Peggy Guzzo in his bid for a second term. Lorenz collected 77% of the vote in this Republican leaning district.  

HD 61: In one of the more shocking outcomes of the night Sen. Andy Brenner (R-Delaware) lost to fellow Republican Shawn Stevens ending his chance for a return to the Ohio House. This one wasn’tvery close with Stevens capturing 57% of the vote to Brenner’s 43%. Stevens held this seat for less than a year after being appointed to fill a vacancy.  

HD 62: Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Loveland) turned back an effort by fellow Republican Dillon Blevins to end her bid for a fourth and final term in the House. Schmidt survived taking 62.5% of the vote in this Republican leaning seat.  

HD 66: In a Republican primary to replace outgoing Rep. Sharon Ray (R-Wadsworth) attorney Sean Hutson pulled 68.5% of the votes to prevail against Aidan Haggard, an Ashland University student. Hutson enjoyed the backing of Speaker Matt Huffman and the House Republican Campaign Committee.  

HD 70: Rep. Brian Lampton (R-Fairborn) will vie for his fourth and final term after besting fellow Republican Terry Free. Lampton garnered 82% of the vote in the Republican leaning seat.  

HD 86: Another hotly-contested GOP primary, Ben Weber outlasted two other challengers for the opportunity to run for the seat this fall. Weber collected 45% of the vote and will face Democrat Kent Halloran of Marion, who faces an uphill climb in this solidly Republican seat.  

HD 88: Rep. Gary Click (R-Vickery) hung on to win the chance for a fourth and final term in the Ohio House narrowly beating Eric Watson by a 52-48 margin. Click will take on Democrat Aaron Jones of Tiffin in the November general election.  

HD 93: Rep. Jason Stevens (R-Kitts Hill), who lost his bid for re-election as House Speaker to current Speaker Matt Huffman, easily survived his primary contest against Larry Kidd. Speaker Huffman and the caucus campaign committee unsuccessfully targeted Stevens who should go on to win this Republican seat in the fall.  

HD 96: Speaker Huffman personally recruited former Senator Frank Hoagland to take on Rep. Ron Ferguson (R-Wintersville) and like in the Stevens seat again was unsuccessful in taking out a political rival. Ferguson topped Hoagland by a 63-47 margin.