David Taylor, owner of a Clermont County construction company, appeared headed for a victory Tuesday in a crowded 2nd Congressional District field of GOP candidates for an open seat.
With 70% of the precincts reporting, Taylor had 25.1% in the 11 candidate field, with former Jackson County party official Larry Kidd and Brown County pizza shop owner Tim O'Hara in second and third place, with 19.6% and 19.5%, respectively.
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The 2nd District is one of the most heavily Republican congressional districts in the Midwest. It is made up of all or parts of 16 southern Ohio counties.
The seat opened up last fall when incumbent Republican Brad Wenstrup announced unexpectedly that he wouldn't run for re-election this year.
Democrat Samantha Meadows, who ran against Wenstrup two years ago and got 25% of the vote, was unopposed in Tuesday's primary. She will run against Taylor in the fall.
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Taylor was endorsed by the Republican Party in Clermont County. He ran a campaign declaring his loyalty to Donald Trump and vowing to work to finish Trump's wall between the U.S. and Mexico.
All but one of the 11 candidates ran as Trump loyalists. The one who did not was former Hamilton County commissioner Phil Heimlich, who ended up in sixth place with 5.4% of the vote.
