— OH-Sen: The final days of the three-way Republican primary to take on Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown has devolved into a messy brawl. Late last week, The Associated Press reported that Bernie Moreno’s company email address was used to create an account on an adult website that sought “young guys to have fun with” in 2008. (POLITICO has not independently verified the reporting. Moreno has forcefully denied creating the account and said a former intern created the account as a prank.) That sparked a barrage of attacks from primary rival Matt Dolan’s allies decrying Moreno as “creepy” and “damaged goods.” Moreno, who has the backing of former President Donald Trump, called the story a “sick, last-minute attack by desperate people.” Trump has stood strong with his candidate of choice, rallying with Moreno over the weekend. The former president isn’t the only one rooting for Moreno: Prior to the AP story, a super PAC affiliated with Senate Democrats dropped millions on ads boosting Moreno — a sign that they view him as the weakest general election candidate. But Dolan, a state senator who is running as a more traditional conservative compared to Moreno and Secretary of State Frank LaRose, has been gaining traction, recently earning the support of former Sen. Rob Portman and Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. Regardless of the victor, Democrats will surely seize on Republicans’ infighting as the race shifts to the general election. — OH-06: The winner of tomorrow’s Republican special election primary for this deep-red district is all but certain to prevail in the June special general election. State Rep. Reggie Stoltzfus, state Sen. Michael Rulli and Rick Tsai, a chiropractor, are vying to succeed former Rep. Bill Johnson, who retired earlier this year to become a college president. They’ll appear on the ballot twice: once for the special election to finish out the rest of Johnson’s term, and another for the full term starting in 2025. Stoltzfus and Rulli have led the field in fundraising. On the airwaves, both have touted their conservative credentials and made their allegiance to Trump clear as well. Rulli is getting a boost from Defending Main Street, the super PAC arm of the pragmatic Republican Main Street Partnership, which has put in more than $100,000 to back him. It’s not the only special election of the night — across the country in CA-20, candidates are competing for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s seat. If one earns a majority of the vote, they will serve out the term through the end of the year. If not, the top two vote-getters proceed to a runoff in May. State Assemblymember Vince Fong and county sheriff Mike Boudreaux, both Republicans, advanced out of the regularly-scheduled primary for a full term next year earlier this month, and are also competing in the special. — OH-09: A lot — but not all — of the drama has been sucked out of the GOP primary to face longtime Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur. J.R. Majewski, a scandal-ridden repeat candidate who lost to Kaptur in the midterms, bowed out of the race after maneuvering from national Republicans and endorsed state Rep. Derek Merrin, the party-backed candidate. But it’s not a smooth path to the nomination for Merrin. Former state Rep. Craig Riedel has stuck around, despite national Republicans abandoning him after a clip surfaced of him trashing Trump. Riedel has sought to cast Merrin as a “never Trumper” and has tied him to former state House Speaker Larry Householder, who was convicted of bribery. Merrin has been bolstered by the Congressional Leadership Fund, which has spent more than $700,000 in support of him. — IL-07: This Illinois Democratic primary has two themes running through it: incumbent Rep. Danny Davis’ age and a left wing activist hoping to capture the moment. Davis, an 82-year-old who’s known in part for his resonating voice, took office in 1997. He says his longevity is an asset to constituents and points to his position as a ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee. His opponents say it’s time to step aside for a new generation. Davis faces four challengers, including well-known Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin and activist Kina Collins, who has twice lost to Davis. Davis has a loyal base and has been endorsed by Gov. JB Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson, both progressives, while Conyears-Ervin has been endorsed by the powerful Chicago Teachers Union. Collins, meanwhile, has built her own network of left-leaning supporters. The district runs from Chicago’s South Side west through the city’s Loop district and into the western suburbs. Once a predominantly Black district, it’s changed in part because of redistricting and because the Black population has declined. It is still overwhelmingly blue. — IL-12: The Trump factor will be in full display in this Republican primary. Rep. Mike Bost won a much sought-after endorsement from the former president. But Darren Bailey, a former state lawmaker who ran unsuccessfully for governor, has a strong MAGA base. Bost and Bailey are both conservative Republicans in the fiercely red downstate district. Trump took 71 percent of the vote in the district in 2020. Throughout his grassroots campaign, Bailey has portrayed himself as even more conservative than Bost, a Marine Corps veteran who chairs the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. The two men are aligned on most every issue — from strengthening immigration rules to opposing abortion and supporting gun rights. But they diverge on last year’s controversial House speaker imbroglio. Bost backed McCarthy for the speakership, while Bailey has aligned with those who wanted McCarthy out. It’s no surprise that McCarthy stumped for Bost earlier in the campaign, and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz headlined an event for Bailey. Trump’s endorsement of Bost came at the nudging of House Speaker Mike Johnson, and other incumbent Republicans urged Trump to back Bost. Happy Monday. Thanks to Shia (skapos@politico.com, @ShiaKapos) for the Illinois insight. Reach us at mfernandez@politico.com/@madfernandez616 and lukenye@politico.com/@Lawrence_Ukenye. Days until the Illinois and Ohio primaries: 1 Days until the Alabama runoffs: 29 Days until the Pennsylvania primaries: 36 Days until the Indiana primaries: 50 Days until the North Carolina runoffs and Maryland, Nebraska and West Virginia primaries: 57 Days until the Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky and Oregon primaries: 64 Days until the Texas runoffs: 71 Days until the Republican National Convention: 118 Days until the Democratic National Convention: 154 Days until the 2024 election: 232
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