COLUMBUS, OHIO --
Mike Carey, a coal lobbyist backed by former U.S. President Donald Trump, beat a bevy of Republicans in central Ohio, while Cuyahoga County Council member Shontel Brown pulled out a victory for the Democratic establishment in Cleveland, in a pair of primary elections for open House seats Tuesday.
The special elections were both viewed as a measure of voters' influences, though low turnout and huge candidate fields complicated interpreting the results too broadly. In both races, party leaders showed they still held sway.
Carey's race reinforced Trump's status as GOP kingmaker, particularly after the former president's preferred candidate in Texas' special election lost last week. Brown's win over progressive Nina Turner handed another blow to a liberal wing that has been challenging the Democratic old guard with a more confrontational style.