CLEVELAND — Another mid-term election is upon us, and with the census revealing changing population trends, Ohio has a new congressional map.
Despite numerous challenges, the state's General Assembly passed new boundaries for the state's 15 districts in the U.S. House of Representatives. It marks a loss of one seat from the last round of redistricting, and the fewest number of seats Ohio has had since 1820.
Analysts project the new map as having 10 relatively "safe" Republican districts and just two for the Democrats, with three more being considered "toss-ups." Two of those tight districts reside at least partly in Northeast Ohio, and one of them includes a candidate backed by former President Donald Trump.
2014 Miss Ohio USA Madison Gesiotto Gilbert, a graduate of Jackson High School, narrowly won the GOP nomination in the new 13th Congressional District that now includes all of Summit and part of Stark County. The 30-year-old lawyer and columnist earned 29% of the vote in a seven-candidate race, and has pledged to vote for decreased government spending, an expanded wall along the southern border, and increased restrictions on abortion.
Gilbert will face state Rep. and former Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes, who was unopposed in the Democratic primary. The Akron native has campaigned on being "ready to stand up for our jobs, for affordable healthcare and education, and for bipartisan cooperation to actually get things done."
All four Trump-endorsed candidates in contested Ohio primaries won Tuesday night, including former White House aide Max Miller in the 7th District that now includes all of Medina and Wayne counties as well as parts of Cuyahoga and Holmes counties. Miller cruised to victory against four Republican challengers with a promise to "advance the American First Agenda," but his behavior has been called into question, notably due to abuse accusations from former girlfriend and White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham.
Unlike the 13th, District 7 is considered deep red, making Miller the prohibitive favorite in the November general election. He will face Matthew Diemer, a podcaster from Bay Village.
Further to the west, Rep. Marcy Kaptur has long enjoyed a safe Democratic 9th District as the longest-serving woman in the history of the U.S. House, but now finds her seat up for grabs with boundaries that now include all of Erie, Defiance, Fulton, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, and Williams counties along with the northern tip of Wood County. Her Republican opponent will be JR Majewski, a U.S. Air Force veteran who twice painted his Port Clinton yard in support of Trump and attended the infamous "Stop the Steal" rally on Jan. 6, 2021, although he has said the subsequent storming of the U.S. Capitol by other rallygoers left him "heartbroken." Majewski upset state Sen. Theresa Gavarone and state Rep. Craig Riedel to secure the nomination.
Here's a look at the remaining general election matchups for Northeast Ohio's U.S. House seats:
- District 4: (R) Jim Jordan (i) vs. (D) Tamie Wilson
- District 5: (R) Bob Latta (i) vs. (D) Craig Swartz
- District 6: (R) Bill Johnson (i) vs. (D) Louis Lyras
- District 11: (D) Shontel Brown (i) vs. (R) Eric J. Brewer
- District 12: (R) Troy Balderson (i) vs. (D) Amy Rippel-Elton
- District 14: (R) Dave Joyce (i) vs. (D) Matt Kilboy