Republican primary Results Democratic primary The
Democratic Party's presidential primaries in Ohio were held on March 15, 2016, concurrently with primaries in
Florida,
Illinois,
Missouri and
North Carolina. The state's 143 pledged delegates to the
2016 Democratic National Convention were rewarded proportionally according to the statewide vote total. Three candidates appeared on the ballot for the primary – former
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,
Senator Bernie Sanders and businessman
Rocky De La Fuente.
Background By the time Ohio held its primaries, voters from 21 states and two territories already cast their vote for the presidential nomination of the Democratic Party. As of the March 12 elections, Hillary Clinton was projected to have earned 775 pledged delegates to Bernie Sanders' 552. Clinton gained significant victories in the
Southern United States, often described as her "firewall", including landslide victories in
Mississippi and
Alabama and
Georgia. In contrast, Bernie Sanders managed to gain victories in the
Midwestern United States, where Ohio resides, including an upset victory in neighboring
Michigan on March 8. After the fact, Sanders' campaign took advantage of the momentum gained from the Michigan win, by targeting Illinois, Missouri and Ohio in the March 15 elections, hoping to repeat the same result. Sanders stated that "Not only is Michigan the gateway to the rest of the industrial Midwest, the results there show that we are a national campaign." Before the Michigan primaries, Clinton and Sanders had debated over economic policies relating to the industrial
Midwest states and the so-called "
rust belt". The disagreements centered around trade deals, including the
Trans-Pacific Partnership and Clinton's past support of the
North American Free Trade Agreement, and its effect on economies such as
Michigan and
Ohio.
Controversy Ohio is one of at least seventeen states that has laws allowing voters who are 17 years of age, but will be 18 by the time of the
general election, to vote in the presidential primaries. However,
Ohio Secretary of State Jon A. Husted had announced in December 2015 that 17 year olds would be outright barred from participating in the 2016 primaries. The rationale for the decision was based on an interpretation of the law in which 17 year olds could "nominate" officials for office, but not "elect". In the case of the presidential primaries, by definition, voters would be electing officials – delegates to each party's
presidential nominating convention. The decision was met with criticism by the public, after it was brought to mainstream attention by
Representative Kathleen Clyde, after she condemned the rule in a statement released on March 5. Clyde described it as a "underhanded, backroom attack" against young voters. Nine teenagers filed a lawsuit with the
Ohio Courts of Common Pleas in
Franklin County over the decision, stating that the decision contradicted state law and a decision by the
Supreme Court of the United States that allowed 17 year olds turning 18 by the general election to vote.
Bernie Sanders' campaign, whose voter base includes the majority of young voters, also filed a lawsuit against the decision, accusing Husted of "arbitrarily" and "unconsititutionally" discriminating against young African-American and
Latino voters, citing data from the
2010 United States census that shows younger voters in Ohio were mostly African-American and
Latino. Husted, in response to Sanders' lawsuit, said in a public statement that he welcomed the lawsuit, further stating that "I am very happy to be sued on this issue because the law is crystal clear", Many Ohio officials, past and present, such as former Ohio Secretary of State
Jennifer Brunner, came out in support of Sanders' lawsuit, and had attracted protests by not only Bernie Sanders supporters, but also
Donald Trump supporters as well. In a decision handed down on March 11, an Ohio state judge ruled in favor of both lawsuits by the teenage group and the Sanders campaign, effectively lifting the ban on 17 year olds from voting in the Ohio presidential primaries. Husted initially announced that he would appeal the ruling, however, after learning that such an appeal would not be heard by the court until the day before the primaries, he retracted his intent to appeal.
Forums March 13, 2016 – Columbus, Ohio The ninth forum was held at 8:00 pm EDT on March 13, 2016, at the campus of
Ohio State University in
Columbus, Ohio, and aired on
CNN.
March 14, 2016 – Columbus, Ohio and Springfield, Illinois The tenth forum was held at 6:00 pm EDT on March 14, 2016, at the campus of
Ohio State University in
Columbus, Ohio, and at the
Old State Capitol State Historic Site (Illinois) in
Springfield, Illinois. It aired on
MSNBC. The first section of the town hall with Bernie Sanders was moderated by
Chuck Todd; the second section of the town hall with Hillary Clinton was moderated by
Chris Matthews.
Results Green state convention The
Green Party of Ohio participated in the March 15 primaries in Ohio, though they did not hold their presidential primary during the event. Instead, delegates to the Green National Convention were awarded based on presidential preference through a nominating convention in Columbus on April 3. Members of the Green Party of Ohio were able to vote in the convention. ==Republican National Convention==