Trump tightens grip on GOP with Tuesday primary victories while ally wins key race

Former President Donald Trump made a clean sweep of the presidential primary contests Tuesday while one of his close allies managed to advance in a key race down the ballot in the battleground of Ohio.

Republicans held nominating contests in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, and Ohio on Tuesday, while the party also chose its nominee in the pivotal Ohio Senate race.

Trump was projected to win every state, a development that hardly came as a shock given all of his primary challengers of any standing had already dropped out of the race. Heading into the contests, the former president had already racked up enough wins to secure the delegates necessary to claim the party nomination. The same was also true for President Joe Biden, who locked up the democratic nomination a week ago.

The evening also saw Trump's preferred choice emerge victorious in the contentious Ohio Senate primary. The former president had backed businessman Bernie Moreno, who previously ran in 2022 in a primary that saw J.D. Vance claim the party nod. Going into Tuesday's contest, he had also racked up endorsements, including from Wyoming GOP Sen. John Barrasso and Ohio GOP Sen. J.D. Vance.

His triumph over both state Sen. Matt Dolan and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, both relatively traditional Republican candidates, affirmed the influence of Trump's endorsement in the contest. Moreno will face Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown in the November contest, which is widely regarded as one of the Republican Party's best opportunities to pick up a seat in the battle for the upper chamber.

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter.