CLEVELAND — Besides the presidential race, control of Congress is also up for grabs across American during Tuesday's election. In the U.S. House of Representatives, Republicans currently hold a narrow edge, while Democrats are hoping to wrestle back power after two years in the minority.
One of the tighter battles in the country is taking place right here in Ohio, where longtime incumbent Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur is facing off against Republican state Rep. Derek Merrin in the state's 9th Congressional District. The area includes all of Erie County.
Who is the winner? Election results are still pending as the polls recently closed throughout Ohio at 7:30 p.m. We will update this article as soon as we have the final outcome from voters.
The Toledo native Kaptur has been in Congress since 1983, making her the longest-serving woman in the history of the U.S. House. Besides authoring legislation to support veterans (including the 1993 establishment of the World War II Memorial), she has also positioned herself as against "Wall Street recklessness," opposing free trade agreements like NAFTA while additionally voting against the 2008 Wall Street bailout. She also co-chairs the House Ukraine Caucus, and her current platform focuses on things like protecting Social Security, bipartisan immigration reform, and an "all of the above" approach to energy and the environment.
Kaptur's 2022 race against J.R. Majewski was expected to be a toss-up, but she wound up prevailing comfortably following revelations that Majewski lied about his military record. After more controversy forced Majewski to bow out of the 2024 contest, Ohio Republicans turned to Merrin, an eight-year state representative from Monclova Township who received former President Donald Trump's endorsement. Merrin bested former state Rep. Craig Riedel by 18 points in the GOP primary.
Merrin made headlines last year when it appeared he would be elected Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, only for a faction of Republicans to join all Democrats in choosing the more moderate Jason Stephens, a maneuver that has bitterly split the Statehouse GOP. During his time in the General Assembly, numerous bills Merrin has authored have become law, including legislation banning abortion specifically for unborn fetuses diagnosed with down syndrome and a measure helping families of servicemembers and first responders killed in the line of duty gain access to tuition waivers. His latest campaign emphasizes the economy and national debt, border security, continuing fossil fuel production, and combatting algal blooms in Lake Erie.
Libertarian candidate Tom Pruss is also in the race, but when we went to the link for his campaign website, we could not find a platform.
The Toledo Blade endorsed Kaptur for reelection, lauding her for "working as hard now as she ever did over the last 42 years to bring advantages that can be secured through the federal government to Toledo." The paper did commend Merrin for his support of ethics reform for lawmakers, but expressed concerns over his election "would empower (U.S. House) Speaker (Mike) Johnson to dispute election results again with control of the House this time."
Republicans presently hold a 220-212 edge in the House. With three current vacancies heading into the 2024 elections, Democrats will have to flip at least three additional seats in order to retake control.
