CLEVELAND — Former Ohio House Minority Leader Emilia Sykes has announced her intention to run for Congress, potentially setting up a highly competitive race for one of the state's newly redrawn congressional districts.
"I’m running for Congress to advocate on behalf of Ohio’s families. I’ve made it my mission to keep jobs in our state & to expand opportunities for ALL in NE Ohio—not just the wealthy & well connected," Sykes wrote in her announcement on social media that posted on Tuesday morning.
Sykes’ announcement comes while Ohio’s congressional map remains in limbo, with the lines of her specific district — the 13th — uncertain. That’s after the Ohio Supreme Court invalidated a Republican-drawn version of the map Friday.
The 13th Congressional District, as drawn before the court's intervention, features Medina County, most of Summit County (including Sykes' hometown of Akron), and Cleveland's western suburbs.
Last month, Sykes announced that she was stepping down as the Democratic leader of the Ohio House after serving in that role since 2019. During her Statehouse tenure, Sykes has often been mentioned as a possible candidate for higher office.
The Sykes name is well-known in Akron, where either Emilia; her mother, Barbara Sykes; or her father, Democratic state Sen. Vernon Sykes has held the same House seat since Vernon Sykes first won it in 1983. Barbara Sykes now serves as president and CEO of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus Foundation.
Emilia Sykes has been in the Statehouse representing the 34th legislative district since 2014. She previously worked as a staff adviser in the Summit County Fiscal Office and as a law clerk to a federal bankruptcy judge. Sykes is a graduate of Kent State University and the University of Florida, where she earned a master’s in public health and a law degree.
Sykes will likely face off against Max Miller, who worked in the White House as an aide to former President Trump, for the right to represent the 13th Congressional District. Miller had raised $1.6 million as of September.
He launched his campaign against incumbent U.S. Rep. Anthony Gonzalez in February 2021, shortly after Gonzalez joined nine other Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Miller was among 10 former Trump aides subpoenaed in December by the House committee investigating the uprising.
Gonzalez announced in September that he would not be seeking a third term in office, telling 3News' Mark Naymik that "the environment is very toxic and especially the dynamics inside our own party, which have sort of stopped making sense to me in a lot of ways."
Previous Reporting:
- Ohio Supreme Court rejects GOP-drawn congressional map
- Rep. Emilia Sykes to step down as Minority Leader at end of year
- Northeast Ohio congressional candidate Max Miller subpoenaed by January 6 committee
- Former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham accuses Northeast Ohio congressional candidate Max Miller of abuse
- US Rep. Anthony Gonzalez to 3News' Mark Naymik: Republican Party 'stopped making sense to me'