Two special House elections in Ohio being held Tuesday will test both political parties: Donald Trump's sway on the Republican Party and the moderate and liberal divisions among Democrats.
The primary contests in a Republican-leaning district near Columbus and a Democratic-leaning one near Cleveland have turned into proxy wars with both drawing big-name politicians and thousands in outside spending.
In Ohio's 15th congressional district, Trump is trying to make his weight felt in the crowded field of 11 primary contenders trying to replace Republican Steve Stivers, who resigned in May.
Trump is backing coal lobbyist Mike Carey but the other candidates have their own big names supporters. Stivers has endorsed state Rep. Jeff LaRe to replace him.
'There's only one Trump, just like there's only one Steve Stivers,' LaRe told The Washington Post. 'At the end of the day we're all individuals. An endorsement doesn't make the candidate.'
Donald Trump is trying to make his weight felt in Ohio's crowded GOP primary in the 15th Congressional district - he has endorsed coal lobbyist Mike Carey (above)
Other Republican candidates have big-name supporters: Former Rep. Steve Stivers, who used to hold the seat, has endorsed state Rep. Jeff LaRe (above) to replace him
In Ohio's 11th Congressional district, Democrats have gone to war in the race to replace Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge, who President Joe Biden named as his housing secretary.
The top two contenders have drawn big names from both wings of the Democratic Party: Nina Turner is a progressive favorite endorsed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez while Shontel Brown has the backing of main stream Democrats like Hillary Clinton.
Winners of the August primaries will face off in the Nov. 2 general election.
Carey was a little known contender until he earned Trump's endorsement. He is a close friend of Corey Lewandowski, Trump's former campaign manager.
The former president has touted his blessing as the political equivalent of a golden ticket. But he's struggling to redeem his record after suffering an embarrassing lose in Texas when his candidate, Susan Wright, the widow of the congressman from the Texas seat who died of COVID in February, lost to another Republican in the runoff.
There's an assortment of other candidates running the Republican primary for the 15th district - all with their
