By Jim Ellis — Wednesday, May 6, 2026
Voting started up again yesterday in two Midwestern states, ending a primary lull since March. The month of May will host nine more primaries and a series of 16 Texas federal runoff elections (One US Senate; 15 US House).
Voters in Indiana and Ohio chose their nominees yesterday, and the Hoosier state Senate races stole the show. There are just two contested statewide elections in Indiana this year (Secretary of State; Comptroller) and no US Senate race.
Ohio will feature an open Governor’s campaign along with a hotly contested US Senate race between appointed Sen. Jon Husted (R) and former US Sen. Sherrod Brown (D) in addition to at least two major US House contests.
Indiana
The Indiana Senate refused to pass a redistricting map that would have enhanced the Republican standing in the US House, and President Trump threatened to target and defeat the seven GOP incumbents who foiled the redraw. The President followed through on his threat and proved successful as five of the seven targeted Senators fell to crushing defeats last night.
Possibly as a side effect of the Indiana redistricting issue, it is arguable that all Hoosier State Republican congressional incumbents who drew opposition under-performed even when winning renomination.
Freshman Rep. Jefferson Shreve (R-Indianapolis), despite having literally a 100:1 advantage in campaign resources ($2.3 million to $22,000) over his opponent was renominated with just 53 percent of the vote.
Three-term Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Noblesville) won with a 60-40 percent margin against a Republican opponent who literally spent no money on her campaign. Similarly, incumbent Marlin Stutzman (R-Howe/Ft. Wayne) recorded a 67 percent victory percentage against an opponent who had less than $100,000 in resources.
An incumbent who faced a legitimate challenger was 4th District Rep. Jim Baird (R-Greencastle). He defeated his opponent, state Rep. Craig Haggard (R-Mooresville), by a 61-30 percent margin. This was not an expensive primary, and Rep. Baird at 80 years of age had been laid up from injuries suffered in an auto accident. Therefore, his 61 percent victory figure is certainly acceptable.
The only Democratic incumbent who faced a challenge was Rep. Andre Carson (D-Indianapolis). Against three opponents, he won renomination with 62 percent of the vote.
Irrespective of all challenged Indiana US House members recording below average victory percentages for incumbents seeking renomination, the entire nine-member delegation should easily win their respective general election campaigns.
Ohio
Several of the Ohio general election campaigns will be of national importance.
Businessman and former presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy won the Ohio Republican gubernatorial nomination last night with a landslide 82 percent of the vote. He now faces former Ohio Health Director Amy Acton who was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Appointed Sen. Jon Husted had no Republican opposition in his special election primary. For the Democrats, as expected, former Sen. Sherrod Brown was renominated with 89 percent of the vote. The two will square off in November for the right to serve the final two years of the current term.
When J.D. Vance resigned his Senate seat to become Vice President, a special election became necessary to fill the balance of the term after Husted, then the state’s Lieutenant Governor, was appointed. In order for the 2026 winner to secure a full six-year term, the individual will be tasked with running again in 2028.
No surprises occurred in the Ohio House races. Two races of note will be featured as national campaigns in the general election, those from Cincinnati and Toledo.
In the 1st District, former CIA case officer Eric Conroy easily won the Republican nomination and now will challenge two-term Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Cincinnati) in a district that the Ohio redraw transformed from a lean Democratic seat to one that tilts Republican.
In the 9th CD, where then-state Rep. Derek Merrin (R) came within less than a percentage point of upsetting veteran Rep. Marcy Kaptur in 2024, we will see a re-match. Merrin defeated a crowded Republican field last night in order to earn a second chance of wresting the House seat away from Kaptur, who was first elected in 1982.
Redistricting made the 9th District even more Republican than it was in 2024, so this challenge race now becomes one of the best GOP conversion opportunities in the nation.