WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s allies could soon add a new House member to their ranks as Ohio voters head to the polls in a district the Republican former president comfortably carried in 2020.
Republican Bill Johnson served more than a decade in Congress before resigning in January, leaving a vacancy in a district that has a track record of electing Republicans. In March, primary voters selected two nominees for Tuesday’s special general election: Republicans Michael Rulli and Democrat Michael Kripchak.
Johnson won his last four elections by more than 30 percentage points, and Trump won the district by about 30 percentage points in 2020. Rulli is campaigning as a Trump supporter and is running an ad portraying himself as an “America-first conservative.” ‘ and ‘pro-Trump delegate’. Additionally, Rulli had spent more than $600,000 as of the Federal Election Commission’s latest filing deadline, while Kripchak had spent less than $8,000.
Here’s what to expect on Tuesday:
SPECIAL GENERAL ELECTION DAY
The special general election will be held on Tuesday. Polls close at 7:30 PM ET.
WHAT’S ON THE BALLOT
The Associated Press will report on the unexpired term in the 6th Congressional District.
DECISION NOTES
The first results Ohio releases will likely come from ballots cast before Election Day, both by mail and in person. In previous races, those votes were most favorable to Democrats. Republicans are more likely to vote on Election Day, so early results may not reflect the final outcome of the election.
Rulli won the Republican primary with strong performances in the northern tip of the district – Mahoning and Columbiana counties – while his two Republican competitors carried the rest of the districts in the district.
The AP does not make forecasts and will only declare a winner if it has been established that there is no scenario with which the underlying candidates can close the gap. If no race is called, the AP will continue to report on any newsworthy developments, such as concessions to candidates or declarations of victory. The AP will make it clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.
The vote automatically switches to a recount if the margin is less than half a percentage point. The AP can declare a winner in a race eligible for a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.
What do attendance and presales look like?
As of March 12, there were 528,784 registered voters in the 6th District.
In the 2022 general election, turnout was 52% of the approximately 536,837 registered voters.
As of Wednesday, a total of 5,497 votes had been cast before Election Day.
How long does vote counting usually take?
In the 2022 election, the AP first reported results at 7:37 p.m. ET, or seven minutes after polls closed. Election night tabulation ended at 2:54 a.m. ET with approximately 98% of the total votes counted.
ARE WE THERE YET?
As of Tuesday, there are 147 days until the November general election.
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Follow the AP’s coverage of the 2024 elections at https://apnews.com/hub/election-2024.
