COLUMBUS, Ohio-- With Democrats set to field candidates in every legislative race for the first time since 2012, there is no shortage of competitive -- and often crowded -- primaries for the Ohio House of Representatives.

Thanks in part to a number of open seats and excitement over the prospect of a so-called "blue wave" in 2018, there are currently two dozen contested Democratic House primaries in Ohio, up from 14 in 2016.

Capitol Letter, cleveland.com's daily Statehouse newsletter, has compiled a list of the top 10 Democratic House primaries worth keeping an eye on through the May 8 primary. Here they are, in order of district number:

District 10: Downtown Cleveland, Bratenahl



Who's running: Nelson Cintron Jr., TJ Dow, Kyle Earley, Aanand Mehta, Ronnie Jones, Billy Sharp, Terrence Upchurch, Danielle Shepherd.



Everyone and their mom seems to be running to succeed term-limited Rep. Bill Patmon in this heavily Democratic district in central Cleveland. Upchurch has the endorsement of the Cuyahoga County Democrats (which will publicize him via their sample ballot). Earley, a pastor and a former top aide to ex-state Sen. Nina Turner, has the backing of the Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus. Dow, a former Cleveland city councilman, has a voter base, though he's currently facing allegations of voter fraud. Cintron, also a former Cleveland councilman, is these days a perennial candidate with little chance of winning. Mehta, an attorney at JonesDay, has some well-regarded operatives helping his campaign -- including Michael Bowen, who ran Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson's re-election campaign last year. With so many candidates, the race will likely be decided by who has the best voter turnout operation.



District 12: Part of Cleveland's West Side, Maple Heights, Pepper Pike, and other parts of east suburban Cuyahoga County



Who's running: Juanita Brent, Patrice Brown, Earl W. Campbell Sr., Yvonka Hall, Dimitri McDaniel, Isaac Powell



Brent, the daughter of the late activist and ex-Rep. Vermel Whalen, has a leg up as the endorsed candidate of the Cuyahoga County Democrats, though she recently got media coverage for an overdue driver's license renewal (noteworthy mainly because Ed FitzGerald's 2014 gubernatorial campaign was sunk in part by a similar, though far more serious, issue). Hall, the executive director of the Northeast Ohio Black Health Coalition, is the progressives' choice. McDaniel is a Case Western Reserve University law student and a former aide to state Sen. Sandra Williams. The other candidates are either political unknowns or perennial candidates.



District 13: Lakewood, part of Cleveland's West Side, Linndale



Who's running: Tom Bullock, Mike Skindell



Skindell is very well known in the district, having represented the area in the legislature since 2003. But Bullock, a Lakewood city councilman, has momentum, scoring endorsements so far from the Cuyahoga County Democrats, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, and the Cleveland Stonewall Democrats, among others. The campaign is taking place amid a battle for the Cuyahoga County Democrats between establishment Dems and progressives. Skindell is affiliated with the Cuyahoga County Progressive Caucus; Bullock is considered more of an establishment candidate, though he's been careful not to tie himself to a particular side.



District 19: Northeast Franklin County, including Gahanna and New Albany



Who's running: Noni Banks, Mary Lightbody



Observers predict this will be a close race between two Westerville residents: Lightbody, a Harvard grad and longtime K-12 and university science teacher, and Banks, founder of The Diva Movement, a women's leadership organization. Lightbody entered the race before Banks, but that advantage could be eroded by Banks if she proves to be a strong fundraiser and campaigner. The Franklin County Democrats declined to endorse in the race.



District 24: Parts of western/central Franklin County, including Hilliard and Upper Arlington



Who's running: Andrea Bonny, Mary Relotto, Allison Russo



Relotto and Russo are the early favorites in this suburban Columbus district. Russo, a health-policy researcher from Upper Arlington, is the more establishment-y candidate; Relotto, founder of the all-female career networking site Dames Bond, is the more progressive and activist-y candidate. Bonny, a pediatrician from Upper Arlington, is a comparative unknown, having entered the race relatively recently. The Franklin County Democrats didn't endorse in the race.



District 26: Southeastern Columbus



Who's running: Erica Crawley, Michael Cole



Crawley, a U.S. Navy veteran and law clerk, won the endorsement from the Franklin County Democrats, giving the first-time candidate an edge in the race to succeed Rep. Hearcel Craig in a heavily Democratic district covering southeast and part of western Columbus. But don't count out Cole, a Columbus City School Board member whose name is only a syllable different from Michael Coleman, the popular former mayor of Columbus.



District 50: Eastern Stark County



Who's running: Cassie Gabelt, Courtlen Vizzuso



Outgoing Republican Rep. Christina Hagan's seat, which covers the eastern half of Stark County, is a longshot for Democrats in November. But it still features an interesting primary between Gabelt, a U.S. Navy veteran from Alliance who works as a mediator, and Vizzuso, a recent Ohio University grad from Alliance who was recruited by Run For Something, a national PAC that recruits young Dems to run for office. Gabelt is perhaps the early favorite, given she entered the race earlier and has support from local progressive groups.



District 56: Northwestern Lorain County



Who's running: Mark Ballard II, Joe Miller, Claudia Olaes, Cory Shawver



Shawver and Miller are the early frontrunners in the race to take over term-limited Rep. Dan Ramos's seat in this Democratic-friendly district. As a resident of Lorain, Shawver (the former executive director of the Lorain County Democrats) has a geographic advantage over Miller, a councilman from the smaller city of Amherst (a non-Lorain resident has never won the district in recent memory). But Miller, a high-school teacher, could pick up support from education organizations, and he was recently endorsed by the Ohio AFL-CIO. Ballard, a law student, is the son of a Lorain school board member and a former district director for ex-U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton. Olaes is a student at Oberlin College.



District 59: Western, central, and southern Mahoning County



Who's running: Larry Moliterno, Eric Ungaro



Ungaro, a Poland Township trustee, is perhaps the slight favorite to win the district, currently held by outgoing Democratic Rep. John Boccieri. The son of ex-Youngstown Mayor Pat Ungaro, Eric easily won the Mahoning County Democrats' endorsement for the seat. But Moliterno, as a trustee for Boardman Township (the largest township in Mahoning County), has a power base, and he's been in the race longer than Ungaro. High voter turnout in the primary would likely benefit Ungaro.



District 75: Southern half of Portage County



Who's running: Denise Baba, Randi Clites, Alice Freitas



Clites and Baba are the frontrunners to take over term-limited Rep. Kathleen Clyde's seat in southern Portage County. Clites entered the race more than a year ago - the Ravenna resident hasn't run for office before, though as an associate director with the Northern Ohio Hemophilia Foundation, she successfully lobbied the Ohio House to preserve funding for a children's medical assistance program. Baba, a former TV reporter, serves on the Streetsboro Board of Education and is ex-president of the Ohio School Boards Association. Freitas, who entered the race at the last minute, is the former president of a transgender advocacy group at Kent State University.