Primary Results

​Voters in Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Washington, and Ohio’s 12th Congressional District (special general election) went to the polls yesterday to choose nominees, and the races detailed below are not yet officially called.
 
Republican state Sen. Troy Balderson (R-Zanesville) appears to have defeated Franklin County Recorder Danny O’Connor (D) in the central Ohio special congressional election by a scant 50.2% of the vote, meaning a 1,754 unofficial vote margin.  Mr. Balderson will take the seat once the vote is officially certified.  But, the two will again do battle in the general election as both won the Ohio regular primary back in May.
 
The Kansas gubernatorial, 3rd Congressional District Democratic nomination, and the Washington 8th District second qualifying position are still undecided as counting continues.
 
In Johnson County, Kansas, possibly as many as 26,000 votes remain uncounted, which will decide whether Gov. Jeff Colyer or Secretary of State Kris Kobach wins the Republican nomination.  Though Gov. Colyer trails, the Johnson County tabulation looks to favor him, and provide enough of a margin to overcome his current 191-vote deficit.  The eventual winner will face new Democratic nominee Laura Kelly, a Topeka state Senator, and credible Independent candidate Greg Orman in the general election.
 
In the 3rd District, Democrat Sharice Davids, a former White House Fellow, looks to be increasing her lead over Bernie Sanders’ backed attorney Brent Welder as new votes are added to the tally.  If the present trend holds, she will face four-term Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Overland Park) in the general election.
 
It will likely be at least a week before we know who advances into the general election against Republican Dino Rossi from Washington’s 8th District.  Physician Kim Shrier (D) and attorney Jason Rittereiser (D) are locked in a tight battle for second place.  In the jungle primary format, the top two finishers advance to the general election.  Because Washington uses an all-mail voting system and allows ballots to be postmarked on Election Day, it can take many days to count all of the ballots.  Regardless of the final primary result, this will be a close general election battle.