Welcome to a special edition of At the Races! Throughout the 2026 primary season, watch for these updates from the CQ Roll Call campaign team on what you need to know for election day. Know someone who’d like to get this newsletter? They can subscribe here.

By Daniela Altimari and Mary Ellen McIntire

The 2026 primary calendar kicks back into high gear today after about a month’s break, with key elections in a pair of Midwestern states.

The biggest battle will unfold in Ohio’s northwestern corner, where Republicans will choose a nominee to take on longtime Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur. 

The Buckeye State is also home to a marquee Senate race. Two years after losing reelection, Democrat Sherrod Brown is making a comeback, hoping to unseat  Republican Jon Husted, who was appointed to Vice President JD Vance’s seat. Brown faces nominal primary opposition while Husted is unopposed for his party’s nomination.

In neighboring Indiana, several House incumbents, including Democrat André Carson and Republican Jim Baird, have primary challengers. 

But the most consequential primaries are at the state legislative level. Seven GOP state senators face challengers backed by President Donald Trump, retribution for their votes against a Trump-backed redistricting plan crafted to favor Republicans in all of Indiana’s House seats.

Buckeye bullseye

Kaptur is the longest-serving woman in congressional history and also one of CQ Roll Call’s most vulnerable House incumbents. Trump carried her 9th District by 7 points in 2024 — and that was under the old map. Under the new lines approved by the state’s redistricting commission last fall, Trump would have carried the seat by 11 points, according to calculations by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales.

Republicans vying to unseat Kaptur include state Rep. Josh Williams; Air Force veteran Alea Nadeem; former Immigration and Customs Enforcement deputy director Madison Sheahan; and former state Rep. Derek Merrin, who lost to Kaptur by less than a point in 2024.

The campaign has become increasingly contentious. Sheahan’s tenure as a top deputy under former Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem has come under criticism from her opponents. Merrin has broad name recognition from his earlier run. Trump’s late endorsement of Merrin in 2024 helped boost his candidacy. This time, the president had yet to publicly weigh in as of Monday afternoon.

House Democrats are targeting a trio of Republican-held seats in Ohio, seeing opportunities beyond traditional battleground territory. 

Among them is the Cleveland-area 7th District held by second-term Republican Max Miller. Former Cuyahoga County Executive Ed FitzGerald, the losing 2014 gubernatorial nominee, and union ironworker Brian Poindexter, who hosted a rally featuring Sen. Bernie Sanders last week, are among the Democrats running. 

In the 10th District, anchored in Dayton, the Democratic field to take on longtime Republican Rep. Michael R. Turner includes nurse practitioner and veteran Kristina Knickerbocker. And in the 15th District, outside Columbus, former state Rep. Adam Miller is seeking a rematch against GOP incumbent Mike Carey. 

Indiana incumbents

In addition to the Trump-targeted state senators, several House members from Indiana face primary challengers. In the deep-blue 7th District, Democrats running against Carson include attorney George Hornedo and Army reservist Destiny Wells. And in the safely Republican 4th District, Baird faces a challenge for the GOP nomination from state Rep. Craig Haggard.

Photo finish

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