Two Ohio Primaries Test Direction of Parties

Playbook: “First, the Democrats in the 11th District: Nina Turner began the race to replace now-HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge with a big lead, but Shontel Brown, a local establishment figure, is closing strong. The race boils down to two members of the party’s most loyal demographic, Black women, who offer competing versions of what it means to represent a majority-minority, solid-blue Democratic district: Turner’s combative, pro-Bernie drive to the left, or Brown’s more conventional, work-with-Biden approach.”

“Farther south, Republicans are choosing a new member in the 15th District. Trump made his pick months ago: Mike Carey, a coal lobbyist who’s never run before. But a week after the Trump-endorsed Susan Wright went down in a Republican-vs.-Republican runoff in Texas, the former president’s sway within the GOP is firmly on the line. There are 10 other candidates, including three sitting state lawmakers (one of whom, state Rep. Jeff Lare, is backed by the former incumbent, Steve Stivers).”

“Polls close at 7:30 p.m. Since these are primaries, the winners won’t take office until after the special elections in November. But questions about where the two parties are headed — Democrats’ driving force under Biden, and Trump’s power over the GOP — will be answered tonight.”