Ohio House primaries: Tims, Lounsbury, Dean out to early leads

Mar. 19—Early results are in for Ohio House primary races, including five in the Dayton and Springfield region that will have a considerable impact on this November's general election.

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The first results available reflect votes that poured in early, either through absentee or in-person means. In this primary, there were 259,988 early votes cast in the entire state, with thousands of outstanding absentee and provisional ballots left to be counted.

As of 7:54 p.m., this is how the early results in these primaries look:

House District 38′s Democratic primary (bulk of Dayton): — Desiree Tims is out to an early lead with 68.56% of the vote. Derrick Foward trails with 31.44%. Just over 2,000 votes have been tallied.

House District 36′s Democratic primary (Dayton, Oakwood, Kettering): — Rose Lounsbury is out to an early lead with 71.5% of the vote. Chuck Horn trails with 28.5%. About 1,500 votes have so far been tallied.

House District 71′s Republican primary (part of Clark & Greene Counties and all of Clinton County): — Levi Dean is out to an early lead with 48.03% of the vote. Joshua Day is in second with 25.4%; while Robert Fudge and Tyler Scott have 18.54% and 8.03%, respectively. Just over 1,300 votes have been tallied.

House District 55′s Republican primary (western and northern Warren County, including Springboro, Franklin and Waynesville): — Michelle Teska is out to an early lead with 71.5% of the vote. McCullough trails with 28.5%. Just over 3,000 votes have so far been tallied.

House District 56′s Republican primary (Lebanon, Mason and the central and southwest reaches of Warren County.): — Incumbent Rep. Adam Mathews, R-Lebanon, is out to an early lead with 43.41% of the vote. Kathy Grossmann trails with 30.94%, while Heather Salyer takes 25.65%. Just under 4,000 votes have so far been tallied.

Race Background:

District 38 Democrats

The District: House District 38 (D+54.9) includes the bulk of Dayton proper and Trotwood.

The context: Whichever Democrat wins the March 19 primary will essentially be guaranteed their spot in the Ohio House, as they'll run unopposed this November. It is the only seat within the Miami Valley currently held by a Democrat. It will be left open by incumbent Rep. Blackshear, who opted to forego reelection and run for Ohio Senate instead.

The candidates: The candidates vying to replace Blackshear both have developed significant name recognition in the Dayton area over the years. They are: — Derrick Foward, the former president of the Dayton Unit NAACP and the former vice president of the Ohio Conference NAACP; — Desiree Tims, the director of progressive think tank Innovation Ohio and a former aide to then-President Barack Obama and Ohio's U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown.

District 36 Democrats

The district: House District 36 (R+5.6) consists of stretches of downtown Dayton, along with suburbs like Oakwood and Kettering.

The context: The House seat is one of the few within reach of Democrats. It's currently held by two-term Rep. Andrea White, R-Kettering, a moderate Republican who survived a close general election in 2022.

The candidates: Two Democrats are hoping to unseat White this November. They are: — Rose Lounsbury, a small business owner and a former public school teacher; — Chuck Horn, a retired attorney who served as a public defender.

District 71 Republicans

The district: House District 71 (R+36) covers the entirety of Clinton County, the eastern two-thirds of Greene, plus southern and eastern parts of Clark.

The context: Four Republicans are vying to replace incumbent Rep. Bill Dean, R-Xenia, who is term-limited after eight years representing the district in Columbus. They will face Democrat James Duffee in the general election in the heavily Republican-leaning district.

The candidates: The four Republican candidates are: — Levi Dean, a Xenia city councilman and the son of the incumbent; — Josh Day, an aerospace engineer and Xenia Community Schools board member; — Bob Fudge, former mayor of Cedarville and the president and CEO of an IT solutions firm in Xenia; — Tyler Scott, an entrepreneur and the former CEO and commissioner of Major League Cornhole.

District 56 Republicans

The district: House District 56 (R+27.5) includes Lebanon, Mason and the central and southwest reaches of Warren County.

The incumbent: Incumbent Rep. Adam Mathews, R-Lebanon, a former vice mayor in the county seat, is facing two primary challengers after his first term. Mathews most recently made a splash with his call to gradually eliminate the income tax in Ohio.

The challengers: — Kathy Grossmann, former mayor and city councilwoman of Mason, is running against Mathews for a second time. In 2022, Grossmann lost a close race by about seven points. Currently, Grossmann serves the Warren County GOP as secretary and helps run a family real estate business, according to her website. — Also in the race is Heather Salyer, a self-described anti-establishment, pro-Trump political novice who said she opposed mask and vaccine mandates and is concerned that Mathews is not conservative enough to move the party forward.

The winner will face Democrat Cleveland Canova this November.

District 55 Republicans

The district: House District 55 (R+47.4) contains western and northern Warren County, including Springboro, Franklin and Waynesville.

The context: Incumbent Rep. Scott Lipps, R-Franklin, is term-limited and unable to run for election after eight years representing the district.

The candidates: Two Republican candidates are running to replace him. They are: — Ben McCullough, a sergeant first class in the United States Army Reserve and defense contractor based in Franklin; — Michelle Teska, a Clearcreek Twp. based business owner who runs Golden Heart Senior Care, an in-home care provider.

The winner will face Democrat Laura Marie Davis this November.

Other districts

In other districts' House races, Tuesday's primary was a mere formality. The following districts have only one Democrat and one Republican hoping to run this November. Those districts include: — House District 39, which will see incumbent Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Butler Twp., take on Democrat Dion Green; — House District 40, which will see incumbent Rep. Rodney Creech, R-West Alexandria, take on Democrat Bobbie Arnold; — House District 37, which will see incumbent Rep. Tom Young, R-Washington Twp., run unopposed; — House District 70, which will see incumbent Rep. Brian Lampton, R-Beavercreek, take on Democrat Joseph Wilson; — House District 74, which will see incumbent Rep. Bernie Willis, R-Springfield, take on Democrat Derek Alvarado; — and House District 80, an empty seat battled over by Republican Johnathan Newman and Democrat Melissa Vandyke.