Derek Merrin wins competitive GOP primary to take on Marcy Kaptur
Former Ohio state Rep. Derek Merrin won the Republican nomination Tuesday to challenge long-tenured Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur again in November, in a district that became more Republican after Ohio’s mid-decade redistricting.In 2024, Kaptur narrowly defeated Merrin, even as President Donald Trump won the district, but Democrats are betting 2026 will favor them more.
Merrin previously lost to Kaptur by just over 2,000 votes and now faces Kaptur-who has served in Congress since 1982-in what the Cook Political Report rates as a “toss up.” The primary featured a tight race among Merrin,fellow GOP state rep.Josh williams, and newcomer Madison Sheahan, with Merrin benefiting from higher name recognition. Merrin has also faced criticism over connections to a consulting firm tied to efforts to resurface Williams’s older social media posts.
Former Ohio state Rep. Derek Merrin secured the Republican nomination Tuesday night to take on Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) for a second time in hopes to unseat the longtime Democrat in a red seat.
Merrin will face Kaptur, the longest tenured woman in Congress, in the November election. The Ohio legislature made the seat more Republican in a mid-decade redistricting passed last year. Kaptur’s seat went from having voted for President Donald Trump by 7 percentage points in 2024 to 11 percentage points in a new map drawn by the state legislature last year.
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Kaptur beat Merrin in 2024 by just over 2,000 votes despite Trump carrying the district. The narrow loss in a good year with Trump at the top of the ballot has Democrats confident they can beat Merrin in 2026, when the environment is likely much friendlier.
GOP primary polling showed a tight contest between Merrin, Republican state Rep. Josh Williams, and political newcomer Madison Sheahan. Until January, Sheahan was deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Merrin had the highest name recognition of the three after being the 2024 Republican nominee.
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In recent weeks, Merrin has come under fire for his ties to a consulting firm that is attempting to highlight Williams’s prior Facebook posts and memes, some of which were sexual in nature, between 2018 and 2022.
The nonpartisan Cook Political Report has rated the new district as a “toss up,” as Kaptur has demonstrated considerable political endurance. Kaptur, 79, was first elected to the House in 1982.
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