The following article was originally published in the Ohio Capital Journal and published on News5Cleveland.com under a content-sharing agreement.
Ohio’s congressional primary races will be decided next week to set the stage for the upcoming general election.
The race up in Northwest Ohio has garnered national attention. A crowded field of candidates are competing for Ohio’s second congressional district. And it’s a battle of political newcomers and elected officials in Ohio’s sixth congressional district.
Primary Election Day in Ohio is March 19. The polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and early voting goes until this Sunday at 5 p.m.
OH-9
Ohio’s ninth congressional district race has not lacked drama as Republicans try once again to unseat U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the longest-serving woman in congressional history.
State Rep. Derek Merrin, former state Rep. Craig Riedel and former Napoleon Mayor Steve Lankenau remain on the ballot after Jan. 6th protestor J.R. Majewski bowed out earlier this month after calling Special Olympic athletes “retarded” on a podcast.
Majewski was the Republican nominee in 2022 but lost by a 13-point margin to Kaptur, who was first elected in 1983 and is trying to win her 22nd election this November. Leading up to the 2022 election, the Associated Press reported Majewski had lied about being deployed to Afghanistan for combat duty. Military records obtained by the AP showed he instead worked at an air base in Qatar.
Merrin, who represents Monclova, has served in the Ohio House of Representatives since 2016. He lost the Speaker of the House election last year to Jason Stephens, who had bipartisan support.
Riedel served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 2017 to 2022, but lost the 2022 primary race for the ninth district to Majewski.
Conservative Charlie Kirk leaked audio of Riedel criticizing Trump at the end of last year.
“Look, Donald Trump, he’s a different person than me,” Riedel is heard saying on the audio. “I don’t like the way he communicates. I think he is arrogant. I don’t like the way he calls people names. I just don’t think that’s very becoming of a president.”
Those comments led to Merrin being recruited to run in the congressional race.
Lankenau served three terms as Napoleon’s mayor when he was in his 20s, according to WTOL.
Riedel is heading into next week’s election with more than $234,000 in cash-on-hand — more than double what his opponents have combined, according to the Federal Elections Commission. Merrin has a little more than $94,000, and Lankenau has a little more than $19,000.
OH-2
A dozen candidates are trying to fill U.S. Congressman Brad Wenstrup’s seat in Ohio’s second congressional district.
Eleven Republicans will face off in the primary: Kim Georgeton, Phil Heimlich, Tom Hwang, Larry Kidd, Tim O’Hara, Charles Tassell, David Taylor, Derek Myers, state Sen. Shane Wilkin, and state Sen. Niraj Antani.
Samantha Meadows is the sole Democrat running for Wenstrup’s seat.
Antani, who does not live in the district, served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 2014 to 2020 and has served in the Ohio Senate since.
There is no district residency requirement in Congress, but Antani told the Butler County Journal-News he would move to the district if he won.
Wilkin served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 2018-2022 and then began his term in the Ohio Senate.
Myers is the former editor-in-chief of the Scioto Valley Guardian and previously attempted to be appointed to Chillicothe’s city council as a Democrat.
He served a brief stint in former U.S. Rep. George Santos’ office in January 2023. Myers filed a sexual harassment claim against Santos, R-NY, after the job offer was rescinded. When it came to the complaint Myers made against Santos, the Committee on Ethics report on Santos “was unable to substantiate this allegation.”
O’Hara, a former U.S. Marine Corps Drill Instructor, has the most cash-on-hand with more than $524,100.
OH-6
Ohio’s sixth congressional district is open after Bill Johnson started his new role as Youngstown State University president earlier this year — vacating his congressional seat.
Three Republicans are competing against each other — state Sen. Michael Rulli of Salem, state Rep. Reggie Stoltzfus of Paris Township, and Rick Tsai.
Rulli and Stoltzfus have both served in the Ohio General Assembly since 2019.
Tsai, an East Palestine chiropractor, threw his hat in the ring due to frustrations with the government’s response to the Norfolk Southern train derailment.
Stoltzfus has the most cash-on-hand with more than $239,500.
Michael Kripchak and Rylan Finzer will face off on the Democratic side.
Kripchak served in the U.S. Air Force for a few years, then spent time in Los Angeles working in the entertainment industry and moved back to Youngstown during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Finzer, former president of the Stark County Young Democrats, is the founder of Finzer’s Finest, a Cannabis Apothecary brand. He has about $1,870 cash-on-hand.
Whichever candidates win in the primary will face off in a June 11 special election to fill the vacancy.
