Ohio special election - AS IT HAPPENED: Donald Trump claims victory in Ohio as Republican Troy Balderson leads Democrat Danny O'Connor

Voters in Ohio's 12th District choose replacement for Representative Pat Tiberi

Donald Trump gets Ohio victory figure wrong, and talks about 'space force'

Ohio's 12th district is the scene for the last high stakes special election of the season. The race is a key test for President Donald Trump, who will be a key part of the Republican playbook in the 2018 midterms.

Republicans are scrambling to avoid an embarrassing defeat in a seat that the party has held for decades. Mr Trump has backed Republican Troy Balderson, who is facing Democrat Danny O'Connor. A win for Democrats would signal further danger for Republicans in November.

President Trump has also tweeted his support for Tony Balderson and also held a rally for him late last week.

The day's races, like dozens before them, pitted the strength of Trump's fiery supporters against the Democratic Party's anti-Trump resistance. The results will help determine the political landscape — and Trump's standing within his own party — just three months before the GOP defends its House and Senate majorities across the nation.

As well as voters in Ohio, who will send someone to Congress immediately, today also sees primary races in Kansas, Missouri, Michigan and Washington state.

As we wait for the results to come in, follow all the latest updates with our liveblog below.

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Additional reporting by AP and Reuters.

[7 August 2018 16:08 · Steve Anderson]

Hello and welcome to The Independent's coverage of primary elections in four sates -  Michigan, Missouri Kansas and Washington have a mixture of governor and senate races.

[7 August 2018 16:08 · Steve Anderson]

Voters in Ohio's 12th district will also be choosing a replacement for resigning Republican Representative Pat Tiberi. That race is a key test for President Trump, who will be a key part of the Republican playbook in the midterms.

Republicans are scrambling to avoid an embarrassing defeat in a seat that the party has held for decades. Mr Trump has backed Republican Troy Balderson, who is facing Democrat Danny O'Connor in the last special congressional election before the midterms. A win for Democrats would signal further danger for Republicans in November.

[7 August 2018 16:09 · Steve Anderson]

Eric Trump has already been calling for people to head out and vote for Mr Balderson. The president has retweeted his son.

 

[7 August 2018 16:19 · Steve Anderson]

The script for Ohio's special election is a familiar one: An experienced Trump loyalist, two-term state Senator Troy Balderson, is fighting off a strong challenge from a fresh-faced Democrat, 31-year-old county official Danny O'Connor, in a congressional district held by the Republican Party for more than three decades. In an early, election morning tweet, President Donald Trump said Mr Balderson would make a "great congressman." 

Mr Trump himself campaigned at Mr Balderson's side just 72 hours before Election Day, a weekend appearance to help energise his support base in a district the president carried by 11 percentage points. 

[7 August 2018 16:22 · Steve Anderson]

But there was little evidence of enthusiasm on the eve of the election as Mr Balderson tried to connect with voters over the phone during a brief stop at a campaign phone bank. He appeared equally uncomfortable answering questions from reporters about whether Mr Trump's appearance might blunt the impact of the recent endorsement from a prominent Trump adversary, Republican Governor John Kasich. 

Mr Balderson said simply that it was an honor and "incredible" to appear with and be supported by the president. He called the race "very close." 

"It's going to be tough, but we feel very positive, we feel very good with the amount of volunteers that we've had here, the enthusiasm, the amount of hours that we've put in," Mr Balderson said. 

[7 August 2018 16:37 · Steve Anderson]

If you need some more information on a few of the states I haven't I haven't mentioned. Here is the lowdown on Michigan:

[7 August 2018 16:57 · Steve Anderson]

And here is all you need to know about the Missouri primaries:

[7 August 2018 17:30 · Steve Anderson]

Today, 62 more women will run in primaries across Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Washington. They hope to join the 244 women who’ve won races for federal and statewide positions so far this year.

[7 August 2018 17:50 · Steve Anderson]

President Trump has also tweeted his support for Tony Balderson in Ohio's special election. He has also hit out Nancy Pelosi, Democrat leader in the House of Representatives for "controlling" Mr Balderson's opponent Danny O'Connor.

Republican-backed adverts have been sent out repeatedly making that point - with the GOP sure to look to attack Ms Pelosi as part of their cross-country strategy in November.

 

[7 August 2018 18:17 · Steve Anderson]

Spending has been interesting in that Ohio race.

Democrat Danny O'Connor, 31, has dominated Republican Troy Balderson on the local airwaves. His campaign spent $2.25 million on advertising compared to M Balderson's $507,000, according to campaign tallies of ad spending. The Republican campaign arm and its allied super PAC was forced to pick up the slack, spending more than $4 million between them.