BREAKING: Trump-endorsed JD Vance wins Ohio Senate primary

In November, Vance will face off against Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan who was also projected to win his party’s nomination Tuesday evening.

The race has gained national attention and is seen by many as a victory for the former President, whose influence in the party as GOP primary kingmaker remains strong. Candidates battled for Trump’s endorsement, even 15 months after he left the White House.

Trump remained neutral until a few weeks ago, when he endorsed Vance, which helped the candidate surge in the polls.

Vance defeated Mike Gibbons, a Cleveland entrepreneur, real estate developer and investment banker, former Ohio treasurer and former two-time Senate candidate Josh Mandel, state Sen. Matt Dolan, a former county prosecutor and state assistant attorney general and one of the co-owners of Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Guardians, and former Ohio GOP chair Jane Timken, to advance to November’s general election.

Republican Governor Mike DeWine also won renomination. The former two-term senator, who also served eight years as state Attorney General before becoming Governor in 2018, defeated several primary challengers while seeking a second term.

Trump did not make an endorsement in the gubernatorial primary. Despite DeWine’s popularity in Ohio, his popularity suffered on the right over restrictions he implemented at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Associated Press projected Nan Whaley of Dayton would win the Democratic gubernatorial primary defeating John Cranley, both former mayors of Cincinnati.