The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.
About 200 Canton residents gathered at a Plumbers and Pipefitters union hall Tuesday to hear from Democratic U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes. The Akron native represents Ohio’s 13th congressional district, covering all of Summit County and the Northwest portion of Stark County including Canton.
But Sykes told the crowd that might change. Later this year Ohio state lawmakers have to redraw the state’s congressional map because the previous version passed along party lines. As the Trump administration pushes states like Texas and Indiana to come up with more Republican-friendly districts, Sykes knows she has a target on her back.
“I have always been the apple of the eye of the Republicans in this congressional seat,” she said in an interview, noting the past two elections in the 13th district have cost almost $50 million.
“There’s no reason for me to think that all of a sudden, in 2026 they’ve decided they don’t care about Ohio 13,” Sykes said.
Because she and Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur of Toledo represent toss-up seats, they’re likely to be the first places Republican mapmakers look to improve their party’s chances.
Sykes worries about what that could mean for communities like Canton and Akron. Under the previous map, both cities were split and a total of five different lawmakers represented parts of the current district.
“None of them lived in this area,” Sykes said. “This district was the outskirts of all of their districts, so we got what was left over in terms of their time, their attention, the resources they were willing to send here, and it showed.”
Getting to know you
Sykes told attendees about anti-corruption legislation she’s working on and the committees on which she serves. The bill redefines an “official act” to make it harder for government officials to accept gifts; her seat on the Science, Space and Technology Committee helped Akron land a tech hub and gives her an oversight role with the massive Intel project in Licking County.
Sykes also pushed back on Vice President JD Vance characterizing Akron and Canton as “lawless” during a recent visit nearby. She criticized the Trump administration for pausing community policing and nonprofit security grants and “holding them hostage in D.C.”
She also brought up the flood of money that has poured into her last two races to set up a presentation from End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller. That U.S. Supreme Court decision opened the tap, Muller argued, by equating money with speech and corporations with people.
When Sykes opened the floor for questions, two attendees interrupted the event to criticize her for accepting roughly $180,000 from pro-Israel organizations. They were quickly ushered out of the building, and joined several other demonstrators lining the street outside protesting Israel’s war in Gaza.
Other constituents asked about all sorts of issues — passenger rail, solar, school funding, deploying the national guard in American cities. While it was clear Sykes sympathized with their concerns, and committed to fight for them, she had to acknowledge that as a minority member her capacity to make progress is limited.
In limbo
Bill Wyss brought up Medicaid. What happens for seniors who are expecting the program to help cover their long-term care?
Medicare, the health program for elderly and disabled Americans, generally doesn’t cover long-term care, but Medicaid, which serves the poor, does. That means many older Americans must spend down their assets before becoming eligible. The Republican-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act puts that eligibility into doubt.
Sykes told Wyss the details will get hammered out as the bill is implemented, but the cost is shared with the state. With state lawmakers focused policies that reduce state revenue, like the new flat state income tax, there will be less money to go around.
“So, it is going to be bad,” she said. “I don’t know exactly what it’s going to look like, who’s going to be impacted how, or exactly when, but it is not going to be good.”
“I am especially concerned about the folks who have to spend down,” she added. “Who then won’t have anything, any assets to rely upon, because they spent them down thinking they would have Medicaid to support them.”
Speaking outside, Wyss explained the question was personal. His mother has advanced dementia, and after living with Wyss’ family for two years, her condition deteriorated enough that she needed full-time care. Wyss explained she’s in a memory care unit and has gone through about $275,000 in savings.
“She’s just about to the point now where she’s out of funds, and it’s time to apply for Medicaid,” he said. “That’s always been there, but maybe not.”
“And that’s, yes, our personal situation,” Wyss said, “but that’s America’s situation. We’re gonna be talking about, you know, hundreds of thousands of people maybe who have been in nursing home care of some kind and may be thrown out.”
Jodi Roberts asked Sykes about immigration policy. Roberts hosted a family as part of a Biden-era humanitarian parole program called Uniting for Ukraine.
“They are doing the things that we would expect them to do, to hold down jobs, to pay taxes, and now their statuses are at risk,” she said. “Is there any hope? Is there any movement in Congress on behalf of these families?
Sykes pointed to a brief window of optimism last year when a bipartisan group of Senators began hashing out a compromise pairing immigration reforms to funding for Israel and Ukraine.
“One call from candidate Trump to kill the bill, kill the bill and that’s what happened,” Sykes said.
“This is a problem that has been created by the lack of action by Congress,” Sykes acknowledged. “There is not a clear, predictable pathway to coming into this country, and so people choose to come in through illegal means and just hope that they can stay.”
Roberts said within seven months the family she sponsored was on their feet and able to get a place of their own.
“They would like to make a life here,” Roberts said, “They would like to put down roots.”
The problem is the parole program only gives them two years in the U.S. Roberts said they’ve filed for a renewal, but they can’t get an answer.
“It’s like crickets,” she said.
