Results from Indiana and Ohio Primaries: Possible Gains for Women in the U.S. House and an All-Woman Gubernatorial Ticket

Primary elections were held yesterday in Indiana and Ohio, and the Center for American Women and Politics (CAWP), a unit of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, is tracking results for women candidates in yesterday's contests. Full results are available on the Election Analysis page on the CAWP website; full results have been reported from Indiana and Ohio, but this results page will update with any unforeseen changes. Complete context about women in the 2022 elections, including candidate lists, summaries, and historical comparisons, are available via CAWP's Election Watch.

Among the most notable results for women:

• Indiana has the potential to pick up seats for Republican women in the U.S. House, including open-seat nominee and former State Senator Erin Houchin (R) in IN-09 and challenger Jennifer-Ruth Green (R) in IN-01. If successful in November, Green – who identifies as Black and Asian – would be the first Asian American woman to represent Indiana in Congress. Both incumbent women – Representatives Jackie Walorski (R) and Victoria Spartz (R) – are strongly favored to win re-election in November.
• In Ohio, Nan Whaley (D) and Cheryl Stephens (D) have the potential to become the first women to serve concurrently as governor and lieutenant governor of a U.S. state if they successfully challenge incumbent Governor Mike DeWine (R) and Lieutenant Governor John Husted (R) in the state’s general election in November. If the Democratic ticket is successful, Whaley will be the first woman elected as governor of Ohio.  (Nancy Hollister (R), who was lieutenant governor, served as governor for 11 days when her predecessor took a U.S. Senate seat and the successor had not yet been sworn in.) Stephens would also be the first Black woman Democrat elected statewide in Ohio. 
• While Ohio incumbent Representatives Joyce Beatty (D) and Shontel Brown (D) are strongly favored to win re-election in Ohio’s general election in November, Representative Marcy Kaptur (D) – the longest-serving woman in the U.S. House – is competing in a general election contest considered a toss-up due to redistricting.
• Both major-party nominees in the open-seat contest in OH-13 are women – State Representative Emilia Sykes (D) and Madison Gesiotto Gilbert (R) – all but ensuring a new woman in Ohio’s U.S. House delegation.

For more information, see the full analysis of how women fared in yesterday's contests on our Election Analysis page. Complete context about women in the 2022 elections can be found on CAWP's Election Watch.