Throughout my life, “March Madness” has been a popular term. Since I was young, this time of year would bring several different things. When I was younger, my friends and I would plan how we were going to play hookey and watch the first rounds of the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament. I always seemed to develop a cough or a stomach ache.

One television was never enough either. We would always have at least three or four on to make sure that we had every game covered. We wanted to ingest every second of college basketball that we could during the first two rounds. If we couldn’t skip school there was always a teacher who would let us watch the games in his classroom.

That continued into college. Classes were missed, on occasion, and great memories were created with friends and family.

However, even though the NCAA basketball tournaments started earlier this week — the men’s First Four played Tuesday and the women’s First Four played Wednesday — “March Madness” has a different meaning and significance for me this year.

As do all elections, the primary elections brought plenty of excitement as the hard work of candidates across the Mahoning Valley and the state reflected in the polls Tuesday night.

Party nominations were captured as candidates earned the opportunity to run in November. “March Madness” went from the hardwood to the voting precincts.

In one of the most highly discussed local primary races, Hubbard Township Trustee Rick Hernandez defeated incumbent Niki Frenchko for the Republican nomination for the seat on the Trumbull County commissioners board that begins Jan. 3. Almost 20,000 voters made a selection in the race, signaling somewhat of a continued trend with Trumbull County voters.

According to the Trumbull County Board of Elections, there were 20,997 Republican ballots pulled — 8,554 more than in the 2020 primary election. There were 17,885 Republican ballots cast in the May 2022 primary and 7,769 cast in the August 2022 primary. It’s an interesting swing in voting trends compared to years past. As Republican votes have increased in Trumbull County primaries, Democratic votes have decreased.

In the 2020 primary, there were 23,842 Democratic ballots cast in the county, according to the elections board. The May 2022 primary drew 16,858 Democratic ballots.

On Tuesday, there were 15,628 Democratic ballots cast. The Democratic race for the Trumbull County commissioner Jan. 3 term seat drew just north of 13,000 votes with former commissioner Dan Polivka earning just more than 50% of those votes to earn the nod.

However, that was just the beginning of the madness that the middle of March brought as State Sen. Michael Rulli, R- Salem, and state Rep. Reggie Stoltzfus, duked it out alongside Rick Tsai of East Palestine, to earn the opportunity to try and fill Bill Johnson’s seat in the 6th U.S. Congressional District, which was left vacant when Johnson left to become Youngstown State University’s next president.

It was quite the thrilling finish between Rulli and Stoltzfus, but like a nail-biter in the annual basketball tournaments, Rulli pulled out the victory. Michael Kripchak of Youngstown earned the Democratic nod and will be looking to create his own Cinderella story in November when he faces off against Rulli.

There were several other races throughout Mahoning and Trumbull counties and Ohio that brought excitement to the month of March. Bernie Moreno earned a face-off with Democrat Sherrod Brown after defeating Matt Dolan and Frank LaRose for the Republican nod for the U.S. Senate seat held by Brown. Sandra O’Brien trounced Mike Loychick in the Republican battle for the 32nd Ohio Senate District nomination and Randy Law fended off Richard Dascenzo for the Trumbull County Clerk of Courts Republican nomination. Mike Wilson defeated John Barco to earn the Republican nomination in the race for Trumbull County sheriff.

Chris Becker and Kara Leonard Stanford also won their individual bids, defeating Thomas R. Wright and Jack Pico, respectively, for Democratic nods to become judges in the Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas.

The stage is now set for the big dance in November, when seats that will help determine the future of the area will be filled. But until then, one March Madness has ended while another is just beginning.

It’s been an exciting month in the Mahoning Valley.

Have an interesting news story? Contact Greg Macafee by email at gmacafee@tribtoday.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @greg_macafee