Dennis Kucinich Declares Victory in Cleveland Ohio

Kucinich was ahead in absentee voter ballots earlier today. This evening he has so far remained in front. Victory has been announced.

If Dennis Kucinich’s (D-OH 10) early lead holds, he’ll beat back Cleveland City Councilor Joe Cimperman (D) and three other Dems to easily win re-election to his House seat. With 26% of the vote counted, Kucinich leads Cimperman 53-32%.

Of all of the vulnerable incumbents in primaries tonight, Kucinich appeared the most in danger. Cimperman was well-funded and ran a very good campaign. Kucinich was frightened sufficiently enough to dump his WH campaign, and returned home to campaign full-time for his re-election bid.

But Kucinich rebounded sufficiently by raising $689K in the last few weeks of the campaign. He used those funds to run several “person-on-the-street” TV ads that touted his hometown appeal.

Kucinich will face state Rep. Jim Trakas (R) in the general, but Kucinich is heavily favored for re-election. National Journal