CLEVELAND — We have arrived at the Nov. 8 midterm elections, and as is the case every two years, voters across Northeast Ohio and the country will be selecting their representatives for the U.S. House.
Democrats currently hold a slight advantage in the lower chamber, and are looking to buck historical trends and keep Republicans from gaining control for the first time in four years. This cycle is of particular note as it comes after the latest census and the most recent round of redistricting, something that caused much controversy in the Buckeye State.
RELATED: Election updates from WKYC
Despite new laws seeking to make the process less partisan, the GOP-controlled General Assembly twice passed congressional maps deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Ohio. Filing deadlines meant the boundaries were used anyway, but due to opposition from Democrats lawmakers will have to go back to the drawing board no later than 2026 (and possibly sooner). A similar flap with the Statehouse and Senate maps led to delayed August primaries and calls for the redistricting commission to be held in contempt.
Critics contend the new maps give Republicans a potential 13-2 advantage in seats (one seat was eliminated during the last cycle) despite the party typically winning no more than 60% of the overall vote in U.S. House elections. Despite the controversy (or perhaps because of it?), there are plenty of notable storylines in this year's races, including some tight battles in Northeast Ohio.
Here are the latest updates as results flow in:
13th District
With longtime Rep. Tim Ryan running for the U.S. Senate, the new 13th Congressional District looks nothing like its predecessor, giving up its Mahoning Valley territory while now covering all of Summit County and a large portion of Stark County, including parts of Canton. The race was considered a toss-up by most prognosticators and featured two female candidates both under the age of 40.
In the end, Democratic nominee and current 34th District state Rep. Emilia Sykes emerged victorious over former Miss Ohio USA Madison Gesiotto Gilbert. Sykes is an Akron resident and former Ohio House minority leader whose parents both served in the General Assembly (her father Vernon is currently a state senator). She has emphasized more local jobs as well as increasing tax credits for families and expanding affordable health care, including pushing back against "any attempts to criminalize abortion and contraception or punish women."
Gilbert was running for political office for the first time and narrowly won the primary after receiving former President Donald Trump's endorsement. She focused her campaign on cutting spending to stop "historic inflation" as well as supporting manufacturing jobs and small businesses.
Due to the close nature of the election, attack ads flooded the airwaves, not just from the candidates but from outside spending groups. Notably, the Akron Beacon Journal endorsed Sykes after Gesiotto Gilbert declined to even be interviewed by the paper's editorial board.
9th District
Rep. Marcy Kaptur has been an institution in Washington representing the lakeshore counties of Northern Ohio. The 76-year-old Democrat is the longest-tenured woman in either house of Congress, and the second-longest-serving woman in Congressional history. On Tuesday, she won a 20th consecutive term by defeating 42-year-old GOP nominee J.R. Majewski.
"I pledge to be a voice and representative for all the people - Republicans, Democrats, and none of the above," Kaptur said in a statement after being declared the winner. "I will be a fighter for the working man and woman, the farmer in Defiance and the autoworker in Toledo, the police officer in Port Clinton, and the business owner in Fremont. We have so much good we can accomplish when we come together."
For the first time in recent memory, Kaptur faced a difficult reelection after her district (which still includes Erie County) was shifted to the west, territory that is largely Republican. Majewski was a Donald Trump-endorsed candidate who was at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection, and first gained notoriety in 2020, when he transformed his lawn in Port Clinton into a reelection campaign logo for Trump. The then-President Trump gave a shout-out to Majewski on Twitter, helping to kick-start his political ambitions.
Majewski does not have previous political experience, instead having previously worked in the nuclear power industry and dabbled in politics as a pro-Trump hip-hop performer and promoter of the QAnon conspiracy theory. Throughout his campaign, Majewski repeatedly said he was a "combat veteran" of the U.S. Air Force, who served a tour of duty under "tough" circumstances in Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
In September, the Associated Press reported that Majewski did not deploy to Afghanistan as he had claimed, but instead spent six months based in Qatar, a longtime U.S. ally, where he helped load and unload aircraft. The AP also revealed that Majewski received a military demotion after driving drunk on an air base.
7th District
Our first big result of the night saw former White House aide and Shaker Heights native Max Miller winning deep-red district that now includes all of Medina and Wayne counties as well as parts of Cuyahoga and Holmes counties.
The 32-year-old Republican served on the Trump campaign in 2016, parlaying that experience into several White House positions, including special assistant to the president. Miller turned his sights on representing Northeast Ohio in Congress after Rep. Anthony Gonzalez from the former 16th District voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection. Gonzalez later decided not to seek re-election, as did longtime 7th District Rep. Bob Gibbs.
With the backing of Trump, Miller cruised to an easy victory over four other opponents in the May primary. Meanwhile, his behavior has been called into question, notably due to abuse accusations from former girlfriend and White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham.
Miller defeated Democratic nominee Matthew Diemer, a 42-year-old podcaster from Bay Village. Early returns did show a relatively close race before Miller eventually pulled ahead.
Other races
One year after winning a special election, Rep. Shontel Brown earned her first full two-year term in the new Cleveland-centric 11th District. She defeated former State Sen. Nina Turner in the Democratic primary for the second straight time and was a heavy favorite against former East Cleveland Mayor Eric Brewer, a longtime Democrat now running as a Republican.
Northeast Ohio also now has a new representative in its ranks, with redistricting adding all of Huron and Lorain counties to the Northwest-based 5th District. Veteran GOP Rep. Bob Latta won reelection against Wyandot County Democratic Party Chair Craig Swartz.
Of the remaining districts, Rep. Dave Joyce's 14th is probably the closest to being competitive, and now includes all of Ashtabula, Geauga, Lake, and Trumbull counties as well as all but a sliver of Portage County. Despite that, Joyce handily defeated Matt Kilboy, a Navy veteran and health care consultant.
Trump stalwart Jim Jordan also cruised a ninth term in the 4th District that now includes all of Ashland and Richland Counties, and an overall Republican victory in the midterms would propel him to the chairmanship in the prestigious House Judiciary Committee. His opponent was businesswoman Tamie Wilson.
Finally, Rep. Bill Johnson defeated businessman Louis Lyras in the 6th District, which includes all or parts of Carroll, Mahoning, Stark and Tuscarawas counties; and Rep. Troy Balderson was victorious over Amy Rippel-Elton in the 12th, which houses portions of Holmes and Tuscarawas.
