Northeast Ohio businessman Bernie Moreno won the Republican primary for U.S. Senate Tuesday. He defeated State Senator Matt Dolan and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose in a close race that went into election day with about a third of voters undecided. The race was bitterly fought and expensive with both Moreno and Dolan loaning their campaigns millions from their own personal fortunes for the stretch run of the race.

In the end, Moreno was named the projected winner of the contest by the Associated Press. He had garnered the endorsement of former President Trump in the three-way contest.

He will face incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown in the fall. The outcome of the race will be watched closely as Ohio is viewed as a likely seat Republicans can flip to re-take control of the chamber in 2025.

While 2024 is a presidential election, both President Joe Biden and former President Trump secured enough wins prior to the Ohio primary to lock up their nominations. They were still on the ballot, but the fact that the nominations had been decided may have kept some voters at home. Voter turnout was reportedly lower than the last presidential primary across Northeast Ohio. In Cuyahoga County, the board of elections put the turnout at less than 20%.

We'll begin Wednesday's "Sound of Ideas" with a discussion that recaps and analyzes key contests from the 2024 Ohio primary. Those races include both congressional and statehouse primary contests, the outcomes of which will be decided in November.

Later, infant mortality rates in Northeast Ohio are three to five times higher for Black babies than white babies. Experts at Kent State have found through their research that untreated post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic stress among Black mothers play a critical role in those mortality rates.

Guests:
-Tom Sutton, Ph.D., Interim Provost and Professor of Political Science, Baldwin Wallace University
-J. Cherie Strachan, Ph.D., Director, Bliss Institute of Applied Politics, University of Akron
-Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau Chief, Ohio Public Radio/TV