RESULTS: A crowded field of candidates vies for the GOP nomination in the special election for Ohio’s 15th District

• A crowded field of GOP candidates are competing for the special primary election for Ohio’s 15th District.
• Former President Trump has endorsed and campaigned for coal lobbyist Mike Carey.
• Polls in Ohio close at 7:30 pm ET. Follow along for live results.
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

Polls in Ohio close at 7:30 pm. Follow along for live results.

A crowded field of candidates are competing in the special primary election to replace former Republican Rep. Steve Stivers in Ohio’s 15th District, which encompasses the suburbs and exurbs south of Columbus.

The contenders for the GOP nomination include state Rep. Jeff LaRe, who has been endorsed by Strivers, state Rep. Bob Peterson, state Sen. Stephanie Kunze, minister and former Columbus NAACP President Ruth Edmonds, Hilliard Councilman Omar Tarzai, and coal lobbyist Mike Carey, who is endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

Trump held his first rally since leaving office to campaign for Carey on June 26.

The special election will pose another test of Trump’s continued influence over down-ballot GOP races in his post-presidency, Insider’s Warren Rojas and Tom LoBianco report.

Read more: Donald Trump’s ‘golden ticket’ is on trial in Ohio, where a special election is again testing his political prowess

Trump’s track record of backing winning candidates suffered a blow last week, when his endorsed candidate Susan Wright lost a special runoff election in Texas 6th Congressional District to state Rep. Jake Ellzey. While it can be difficult to draw sweeping conclusions from individual, low-turnout special elections, tonight’s results will be another data point to Trump’s continued influence over Republican primary voters.

The number of candidates in the field and all the different constituencies at play in the primary make it difficult to discern a clear frontrunner.

“5,000 votes could win this thing, no poll could properly catch the turnout, there’s just no way to guess,” one Ohio GOP consultant told Insider. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

The winner of the special GOP primary will be heavily favored to win the November 2 special general election in the 15th District, which backed Trump over President Joe Biden by 14 percentage points, 56% to 42%, in 2020.