GROVE CITY — The midsummer race for Ohio’s traditionally Republican 15th Congressional District wouldn’t typically get much national attention.
Polls are open until 7:30 p.m.
But it’s suddenly becoming a high-stakes test of former President Donald Trump’s endorsement power, which he has wielded as a cudgel to silence opposition in the GOP.
Last week, a Texas congressional candidate he backed was defeated in a special election, and the former president’s allies quickly shifted their attention to Ohio to ward off another embarrassing loss.
Prior to the opening of the polls, it appeared as though turnout would be low for the special primary election, with the office of Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose reporting that fewer than 18,000 early votes had been cast by mail or in person out of more than a half million eligible voters in the district.
Although low-turnout special elections aren’t perfect measures of his strength, a second loss in two weeks could chip away at Trump’s self-proclaimed kingmaker status heading into next year’s midterm elections.
Tuesday’s primary will decide the Republican and Democratic candidates who will face off in November for the right to succeed former U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers, who resigned from Congress this year to head up the Ohio Chamber of Congress.
The race pits Trump-endorsed Mike Carey, a coal lobbyist, against nine other Republicans, including state Rep. Jeff LaRe, who has earned Stivers’ endorsement, state Sens. Bob Peterson and Stephanie Kunze and former state Rep. Ron Hood.
About half of the 560,000 voters registered in the 15th Congressional District live in parts of Franklin and Fairfield counties, primarily suburban Columbus communities that Republicans for generations could count on, but where Trump lost support in 2020.