GOP selects candidates for key midterm races

The outcomes of some of the state primary elections held Tuesday could have big implications in the battle for control of the U.S. Senate later this year. In Ohio, Rep. Jim Renacci won the Republican Senate primary and will oppose incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in the general election. In the Ohio gubernatorial primary contests, Democrat Richard Cordray and Republican Mike DeWine won their parties’ nominations, both hoping to replace outgoing Republican Gov. John Kasich. DeWine, the state’s attorney general, defeated Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor, a tea party conservative. In West Virginia, a half-dozen Republicans fought for a chance to oppose vulnerable incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in November. State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey came out on top, besting Don Blankenship, an ex-convict and former coal mine owner who finished third. In Indiana, Republican Mike Braun won a chance to challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Joe Donnelly, and Vice President Mike Pence’s older brother, Greg Pence, won a GOP primary race for a chance at taking a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. And in North Carolina, incumbent Rep. Robert Pittenger lost his Republican primary race to Charlotte-area pastor Mark Harris.