Tuesday’s primaries in Indiana and Ohio were big events for candidates endorsed by prominent members of the Republican Party, including former President Donald Trump. Trump, however, was not the only key Republican figure to support the winning candidates. House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik and E-PAC, her leadership PAC formed to augment the number of Republican women elected to the House after the GOP’s 2018 midterm defeats, also finished victories.
Former State Senator Erin Houchin, endorsed by Stefanik and E-PAC, successfully emerged from a crowded primary field of nine candidates to represent Indiana’s 9th Congressional District. She was the only woman in this race. This is an open seat because Republican Trey Hollingsworth will not seek re-election and Houchin will face Democrat Matthew Fyfe in the general election in just over six months. Trump has not expressed support in this race.
DDHQ Race Update: IN-09 GOP
Erin Houchin 562 (32.15%)
Stu Barnes-Israel 488 (27.92)
Mike Sodrel 399 (22.92%)
J. Michael Davisson 129 (9.76%)
Jim Baker 71 (5.29%)
More results here: https://t.co/MOUZI5gypR
— Decision DeskHQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) May 3, 2022
“No one has done more to support the America First campaign and candidates than Elise Stefanik. Speaking on behalf of my campaign, Elise’s support was crucial to our victory last night, as she invested in our efforts early and never wavered in her support. Like other strong E-PAC candidates, I am focused on winning in November so that we can join Elise and other conservatives in the House to push back against the radical Biden-Pelosi agenda and take back our country,” Houchin said in a statement to City Hall.
Madison Gesiotto Gilbert, a business owner, lawyer and commentator who was involved in Trump’s 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, was approved by the former presidentas well as Stefanik and E-PAC. She also faced a crowded seven-candidate primary and was one of two Republicans in that race, but was declared the winner with 28.3 percent voting.
Gilbert will face Democrat Emilia Sykes in the November general election. That seat is also open because the state’s Republican senator is running for Republican Sen. Tim Ryan, who is trying to replace retiring Sen. Rob Portman. He easily won the Democratic primary on Tuesday night, with 73.2 percent voting.
“Congresswoman Stefanik’s support of my campaign through E-PAC played an important role in my primary victory in Ohio’s 13th Congressional District. Elise knows that electing Republican women who support America First is critical to taking back the House in November and getting our country back on track, I can’t wait to campaign with Elise in the general election and join her in Congress next year,” Gilbert said in a statement to Townhall.
Both Houchin and Gilbert were among the list of endorsed candidates who appeared at the E-PAC press conference in behind schedule March, which Townhall attended.
Tuesday night, a Vox article on “4 winners and 2 losers from the Ohio and Indiana primaries“he also referred to Houchin and Gilbert by name when referring to their “winner” among the “Republican candidates.”
Both Trump and Stefanik, as members of Congress, also endorsed Max Miller for Ohio’s 7th Congressional District. Republican Bob Gibbs decided to retire due to redistricting and rather than face a primary challenge from Miller, who defeated other candidates win easily 71.9% of the votes.
These winning endorsements are part of a broader plan to not only elect more Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives and regain the majority, but also record numbers of Republican women. At a March news conference, Stefanik told reporters that there could be 50 Republican women in Congress in the next term – both those who will be elected in November and those who are already serving.
A record number of Republican women have declared their intention to run for office in November. In July last year, when the number was already record-breaking, there were 127 such women. In March of this year, that number more than doubled to 280 women who filed to run for Congress, Stefanik mentioned.
“Yesterday’s primary election was a big night for the America First movement. We saw big wins across the country, including wins for E-PAC-endorsed candidates Madison Gesiotto Gilbert and Erin Houchin. Max Miller also won big and I was happy to join in. President Trump endorsed Max’s campaign. We are on track to take over the House in November, fire Nancy Pelosi once and for all, and save America,” Stefanik said in a statement to Townhall.
The Cook Political Report had already predicted that Republicans would take control of the House last December. The president’s party almost always loses seats in his first midterm elections, and Democrats have an especially slim majority before November. Moreover, Democrats are suffering from low approval ratings for President Joe Biden high quantity Democratic members retire.
