Ohio’s 2022 primary elections for statewide and other federal offices were held on Tuesday, May 3. On the Democrat side, a pair of SW Ohio Mayors faced off for the gubernatorial nomination with Nan Whaley of Dayton cruising past John Cranley of Cincinnati. For the United States Senate, Congressman Tim Ryan (Niles) easily topped Morgan Harper (Columbus) and Traci Johnson (Columbus). On the GOP side, Governor Mike DeWine topped challengers Jim Renacci (Wadsworth), Joe Blystone (Canal Winchester), and Ron Hood (Ashville) with 48 percent of the vote to just 28 percent for the second place Renacci.
In the hotly contested primary for the US Senate, JD Vance (Cincinnati) was propelled by the endorsement of former President Donald Trump to win the crowded field with 32 percent of the vote. Josh Mandel (Cuyahoga County) edged out Matt Dolan (Chagrin Falls) with 23.9 percent and 23.3 percent respectively for second.
In GOP congressional races, all incumbents defeated primary challengers or were unopposed. In competitive races, JR Majewski (Port Clinton) defeated a sitting State Representative and State Senator in the 9th district, setting up a race against incumbent Democrat Marcy Kaptur (Toledo).
Trump-backed candidates Max Miller (Cuyahoga County) and Madison Gesiotto Gilbert (Canton) won primaries in the 7th and 13th districts, respectively. Miller should be favored to replace Anthony Gonzalez and Bob Gibbs, who both retired from Congress and lived in the same district, while Gesiotto Gilbert will face Emelia Sykes (Akron) in one of the most competitive races across the state. All incumbent Democrats won their primaries or were unopposed.
In the other statewide races, incumbent Republican Dave Yost will face a challenge from Democrat Jeffrey Crossman for Attorney General; incumbent Republican Keith Faber will face a challenge from Democrat Taylor Sappington; for Secretary of State, incumbent Republican Frank LaRose easily defeated challenger John Adams and will face a challenge from Democrat Chelsea Clark; and incumbent Republican Robert Sprague will face a challenge from Democrat Scott Shertzer. Primaries for Ohio’s state legislative candidates will likely be held in August.
