There are 29 Republican primaries for the Ohio House of Representatives on March 19, 2024. An incumbent is running in 19 of those primaries.
The 2024 elections are taking place in the context of a conflict within the House Republican caucus over the election of a speaker. After Republicans won a 67-32 margin in the 2022 elections, 22 Republicans joined with all 32 Democrats to elect Jason Stephens (R) speaker over the winner of the Republican caucus’ internal vote, Derek Merrin (R). The Ohio Republican Party’s central committee voted to censure all 22 House Republicans who voted for Stephens following his election.
The 2024 legislative elections have 29 contested Republican primaries, the most in any year since 2018. Nineteen incumbents—more than one-third of those seeking re-election—face primary challengers compared to 12 in 2018. This is the highest rate at which incumbent Ohio House Republicans have faced primary challenges since at least 2012.
