The primary election Tuesday in Ohio set up what is expected to be one of the most expensive races for U.S. Senate this year as Republicans try to hold on to the chamber, while biotech billionaire Vivek Ramaswamy will face a challenge from the state’s former health director as he seeks to keep the governor’s office in GOP hands.
In what promises to be one of November’s most high-profile races, former Sen. Sherrod Brown easily defeated a challenger in the Ohio Democratic primary and will now attempt to unseat Republican Sen. Jon Husted.
And in primary elections in Indiana, a majority of the incumbent GOP state senators who opposed a plan backed by President Donald Trump to gerrymander the state’s congressional districts effort have lost their primaries to Trump-backed candidates. The redistricting effort hit a snag last year in Indiana when half of the state’s Republican senators sided with Democrats to defeat the plan. That set up a bellwether primary season that was seen as a test of the president’s sway with Republican voters.
And in Michigan, after 16 months without representation in the state Senate, voters in the competitive District 35 are deciding control of the chamber. Michigan Democrats cling to a 19-18 majority. A Republican victory would deadlock the state Senate.
Here is the latest:
The three-term U.S. senator from Ohio who lost his seat in the 2024 election thanked supporters at an election night party before pivoting to his longtime economic message.
“No one in the Senate is standing up to these corporations who raise your prices and who game the system,” Brown said to boos from the crowd. “Instead, the people who are supposed to be representing you in Washington, they play the stock market, they cycle through the revolving door, they lobby for special interests the moment they leave the United States Congress.”
He denounced major banks, insurance and pharmaceutical companies, as well as “big corporations” that build data centers in Ohio. He also took aim at Husted, his rival in the general election.
“Ohioans don’t have anyone fighting for you, until November,” Brown told the crowd.
Amy Acton, who won the uncontested Democratic primary in the Ohio governor’s race, said during a victory speech that she was running to make the state more affordable again.
She cited rising costs for gas, electricity and child care as hurdles for families in the state. She said people were doing the right things but still struggling.
“It shouldn’t be this hard,” she said. “It is time to put working families first.”
Baird, who was endorsed by Trump, won his primary in Indiana’s 4th Congressional District, overcoming a tough challenge from a state lawmaker.
Baird defeated state Rep. Craig Haggard, who was endorsed by state Attorney General Todd Rokita, a vocal Trump supporter. Political newcomer John Piper also ran.
Baird is seeking a fifth term in the west-central Indiana district that has been under Republican control for more than 30 years. Baird was hospitalized in January after another vehicle struck his SUV, severely injuring his wife, who died three months later.
GOP U.S. Sen. Jim Banks declared it was a “Big night for MAGA in Indiana” after multiple Trump-backed challengers won their party’s nomination for state senate over incumbent lawmakers who crossed the president.
Conservative activists also touted the election results.
“It’s clear the Trump Team delivered,” Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for Turning Point USA, wrote on social media. Kolvet was a confidant of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk and producer for his podcast.
Kolvet also congratulated activists from the conservative youth group, who he said “worked so hard mobilizing on the ground in Indiana.”
ndiana Sen. Travis Holdman, an 18-year senator from the Fort Wayne area, attributes his loss not to his vote against state redistricting in December but the more than $1.3 million in attack advertising that was bankrolled by super PACs organized by Indiana Gov. Mike Braun and Sen. Jim Banks.
“Welcome to D.C. politics in Indiana because this means that’s what’s coming,” he said. “I did what my constituents asked me to do and it cost me my job,” he said. “But that’s OK”
Carson survived his toughest primary challenge in nearly two decades in Indiana’s 7th Congressional District.
Carson won the four-person primary for the Indianapolis-area district. Carson has been in Congress since winning a special election in 2008 triggered by the death of his grandmother, former Rep. Julia Carson. He is one of four Muslims in Congress.
André Carson on Tuesday defeated George Hornedo, an attorney and Democratic Party strategist who served in the Obama administration and Destiny Wells, a U.S. Army Reserve member who previously lost races for secretary of state and attorney general.
Denise Paul Hatch, who cast herself as an anti-establishment outsider, also ran. Hatch pleaded guilty to felony misconduct in office in 2024, leading to her removal as a constable for Center Township.
Late Tuesday afternoon, before he’d lost the race to hold onto his state Senate seat, Indiana’s Travis Holdman said the last few months had been “a roller coaster.”
He was cold and wet from the 47-degree rain outside the polling place he had visited, though a voter had just thanked him for having “a spine.”
Holdman’s Trump-back challenger Blake Fiechter had entered the race, quit the race and reentered, all while super PACs backed by Gov. Mike Braun and Sen. Jim Banks unloaded more than $1.3 million in his Fort Wayne area district attacking Holdman after he voted against the White House redistricting plan.
“It’s the emotions of not knowing which way it’s going to go,” he explained, before finishing, “I’m at peace with however it goes.”
Billionaire biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy has clinched the Republican nomination for Ohio governor and will face off this fall against the state’s COVID-era health director, Democrat Amy Acton.
A newcomer to state politics, Ramaswamy aggressively positioned himself for the job early with the help of endorsements from President Donald Trump and the state Republican Party.
Trump’s endorsement continues to carry weight in Ohio, which favored him three times for president, but Ramaswamy could face headwinds amid the president’s lagging popularity over the war in Iran and the rising cost of living.
Acton, a physician who was unopposed in her primary, has a well-known public profile and robust fundraising.
U.S. Sen. Jon Husted has secured the Republican Senate nomination in Ohio, as the incumbent braces for what is expected to be an expensive fight to hold his seat.
On the Democrats’ side, Dr. Amy Acton won the party’s nomination for governor. The state’s COVID-era state health director moves on to a likely matchup against Republican billionaire biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, who was facing a challenger in the GOP primary.
Husted and Acton were both unopposed in their primaries.
Today’s vote will decide candidates for the marquee Senate and governor’s races this fall. Anyone in line at 7:30 p.m. has the right to vote.
Outside groups have spent more than $8 million targeting incumbents in Indiana, in some cases outspending the money those candidates raised on their own.
In state Senate District 23, Trump endorsed Paula Copenhaver against state Sen. Spencer Deery. Deery raised $500,000, according to the latest state filings, while Copenhaver raised about $15,000. However, outside groups spent more than $2 million in ad reservations boosting Copenhaver, according to AdImpact.
In state Senate District 1, Trevor de Vries -- a challenger endorsed by Trump -- raised just over $30,000 as of latest filings, while incumbent Dan Dernulc has raised over $200,000. But AdImpact shows outside groups spending more than $200,000 to help defeat Dernulc.
Polls remain open in 12 counties in northwestern and southwestern Indiana that are in the central time zone.
“I think it might have some bearing on the country, because I know Trump is obviously looking to hold onto the House and Senate and maintain his advantage there, which is pretty razor-thin I think at this point,” said John Hall, a 69-year-old self-described independent who voted for Democrat Chedrick Greene. “So, I’m sure he’s going to be paying close attention to this particular race.”
Hall, a retiree who worked for years at an area radio station, said the economy is a key issue for him. He spent $58 at the gas station before driving to the public library in Bay City to vote.
“It’s taking a bite out of a lot of people’s budgets right now,” Hall said, adding it would have cost between $35 and $40 to fill up his car’s tank two months ago.
In a social media post while voters were headed to the polls, Trump said Republican state senators who voted against redistricting “couldn’t care less about our Country, or about keeping the Majority in Congress.”
Trump described the senators who crossed him as RINOs, which means “Republican in name only.” And he hailed “Great Patriots” that he’s endorsed to oust them.
Groups allied to defeat Indiana state Sen. Spencer Deery will have spent $2 million in ads attacking him by the time polls close. That’s more than any other district where incumbents are trying to fend off Trump-backed challengers.
Deery is completing his first term and was the first Republican senator to publicly oppose redistricting.
Paula Copenhaver is challenging him. She’s a close ally of Republican Lieutenant Gov. Micah Beckwith and is Fountain County GOP chair in rural, western Indiana. Deery beat Copenhaver in a four-way Republican primary for the seat four years ago.
The super PAC run by Indiana U.S. Sen. Jim Banks, Hoosier Leadership PAC, will have spent more than $1.1 million on ads attacking Deery through Election Day, according to the ad-tracking service AdImpact. Gov. Mike Braun’s American Leadership PAC will have spent more than $900,000 doing the same, according to the group.
Deery is on track to have spent more than $745,000 on this year’s primary, far more than last time.
An engineer and vehicle designer who calls himself “The Car Guy,” Putsch is making a long-shot bid for Ohio governor against Republican Vivek Ramaswamy.
After the last-minute disqualification of another candidate’s ticket, the 44-year-old from northwest Ohio ended up as Ramaswamy’s only primary opponent.
Putsch has attracted fans and critics with his provocative YouTube videos, which often — subtly or overtly — take aim at Ramaswamy’s Indian heritage or Hindu faith.
On the campaign trail, he’s also been critical of President Donald Trump, energy guzzling data centers and national Republicans’ support for Israel and handling of the Epstein files.
Trump is throwing his name behind Republican challengers to GOP senators who opposed redistricting. But Braun is carrying out much of the work.
After Trump’s pledge last year to rally against GOP senators who blocked the effort and are seeking reelection, Braun picked the candidates.
Frustrated by Rodrick Bray, the Senate GOP leader who opposed redistricting, Braun recruited the seven Republicans challengers on the pledge that they oppose Bray for leader.
In his break with party orthodoxy, Braun has also committed $3 million to advertising from his American Leadership PAC attacking those incumbents on the wishes of the president, according statistics collected by the ad-tracking firm AdImpact.
That includes almost $900,000 alone in ads attacking Republican state Sen. Spencer Deery of West Lafayette, the first Republican senator to oppose redistricting and a protege of former GOP Gov. Mitch Daniels, who is an opponent of the redistricting measure.
The Republican-controlled Indiana Senate in December rejected the measure that would have shaded all nine of the states congressional districts as favorable to the party, and halted progress on the party’s effort nationally.
The move defied months of urging by the White House led by Vice President JD Vance, who traveled twice to Indianapolis and hosted many in the caucus in Washington, where Trump phoned in to address the group.
While Indiana was considering the measure, voters in Democratic-leaning California approved Proposition 50, which allowed the state Legislature to bypass the independent commission to redraw districts for the next three biennial elections.
Republicans think they could win up to nine more seats under revised districts in Texas, Missouri, North Carolina and Ohio. But Democrats think they could win as many as 10 additional seats under new districts in California, Utah and Virginia, though legal challenges remain in both Missouri and Virginia.
Emily Bohall Board, 37, an occupational therapist in Columbus, Indiana, said she had never voted in a Republican primary before Tuesday. But the issue of redistricting compelled her to cast a ballot for Sen. Greg Walker.
“Greg Walker is the only option not supported by Donald Trump, and I have been very upset about everything Trump has done,” Board said.
Madison Long, 28, an attorney, who also voted for Walker, criticized Michelle Davis, Walker’s opponent, for her ties to Trump.
“She doesn’t have any promises of her own or any agenda of her own. Her goal is to just follow Trump,” Long said. “I find that extremely concerning given the nature of the nationwide politics.”
The race will determine whether Democrats maintain a majority in the state Senate for the final months of the year.
Democrats currently control the state Senate 19-18. If Democrat Chedrick Greene wins, Democrats keep their majority.
If Republican Jason Tunney wins, the Senate would be tied, making it tougher for Democrats to advance Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s agenda. While Democratic Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II would serve as the tie-breaking vote, Republicans could effectively block any measure from passing by not having all members vote.
There’s another reason people are watching the race: The swing district in a battleground state could give clues to what will happen in November’s midterms..
Democratic Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, a former three-term U.S. senator, left, and wife Connie Shultz react on stage at a primary election night campaign event after Brown won the party's primary for US Senate in Cleveland, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Democratic Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, a former three-term U.S. senator, left, and wife Connie Shultz react on stage at a primary election night campaign event after Brown won the party's primary for US Senate in Cleveland, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek speaks during a watch party at the Spruce St. Sporting sports bar after winning the party's nomination for governor Tuesday, May 5, 2026, in Columbus. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Meredith Freedhoff gestures during a watch party for Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy at the Spruce St. Sporting sports bar in Columbus, Ohio, Tuesday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Republican Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy fills out his ballot at his polling place at the Burbank Early Childhood School in Columbus, Ohio, Tuesday, May 5, 2026, during the primary election. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
A poll worker talks with a voter at a polling booth in in Columbus, Ind., on Thursday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Obed Lamy)
A voting sign is seen outside the Bartholomew County Governmental Office Building in Columbus, Ind., on Thursday, May 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Obed Lamy)
