Congress race could be exciting

SANDUSKY — Democrats and Republicans already are making preparations for another exciting race in the 9th U.S. House district next year, with U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, expected to seek another two-year term. Kaptur, 78, signaled she plans to run again in a Federal Election Commission filing, although she hasn't discussed the matter publicly. Kaptur filed a "statement of candidacy" with the commission on Dec. 9. The 9th District includes all or part of Erie, Ottawa, Lucas, Sandusky, Defiance, Williams, Fulton and Wood counties. Who could be challengers? While other GOP candidates might step up, possible candidates who have been mentioned, so far, include: • State Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania Township • Former state Rep. Derek Merrin of Monclova Township, the Republican nominee who opposed Kaptur in last year's election • Former state Rep. Craig Riedel of Defiance, who has run before but hasn't been able to get past the GOP primary • State Sen. Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, the current president of the Ohio Senate Merrin confirmed he is considering another attempt to unseat Kaptur. "Our strong campaign kept Kaptur under 50% of the vote proving northwest Ohio wants change. Many folks have encouraged me to run again in 2026, and I'm considering it," Merrin said. "I'm confident Kaptur is serving her last term in Congress." Williams also confirmed he is interested. "My current focus is on the operating budget here in Columbus," he said Friday. He said he wants to take care of funding schools and help with tax relief for Ohioans. "But we are taking a look at the Ninth," he said. The district leans Republican and the GOP should have won in 2022 and 2024, but "unfortunately we weren't able to get the job done," he said. Diving deep into the district While her district was a safe Democratic district for years, it was redrawn after the 2020 census, and the district is considered to be a tossup now. Republican Zach Bannon, the regional spokesman for the National Republican Campaign Committee, noted in an interview that Trump carried the district by about 25,000 votes last year. One factor in next year's election is that U.S. House districts will be redistricted once again this summer, although legislative districts apparently will remain unchanged through 2030. Kaptur's re-election campaign could be affected if the political tilt of the district is changed. Another factor in a possible GOP primary is whether President Trump will weigh in with an endorsement. "I think the White House will weigh in that district eventually," Williams said. "If I decide to run, of course we would be seeking the endorsement of President Trump." Although it appeared early that Kaptur apparently had won re-election last year, the final result was not available for weeks because of the narrowness of her victory. She got 181,098 votes, or 48.3%, compared to 178,716 for Merrin, or 47.6%, with 15,381 votes going to Tom Pruss, the Libertarian candidate. The National Republican Campaign Committee, which works to elect Republicans to the U.S. House, has just released a list of 26 House seats currently held by Democrats, which the group believes it has a chance to flip next year into the Republican column. Kaptur's district is one of the 26, along with Ohio's District 13 seat, held by U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, who also won re-election last year. Many U.S. House districts, both in Ohio and across the U.S., are not considered competitive and are considered likely automatic wins for whichever incumbent currently holds office. But that will make races in districts such as Kaptur's 9th District all the more exciting, as the 2026 elections figure to be highlighted by a desperate struggle by both parties to take control of the U.S. House. Many believe there will be plenty of money spent and great attention focused on races in which both parties have a chance to win. "This race will be a top priority for the (National Republican Campaign Committee) this cycle," Bannon said, referring to Kaptur's seat. Republicans currently control the House with a very narrow majority, and the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson, was able to push through a budget bill last week backed by Trump. The vote on the budget bill illustrates just how narrow Johnson's majority is: It passed 217-213, with all but one Democrat and one Republican voting along party lines.