COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur won another term in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, after defeating a Republican state lawmaker backed by President-elect Donald Trump.
Her victory in northwest Ohio over fourth-term state Rep. Derek Merrin allows Kaptur to continue her streak as the longest-serving woman in the history of the House of Representatives. The outcome comes from the final results certified by the Lucas County Board of Elections in Toledo.
The Associated Press had previously said the race was too early to call, despite Kaptur declaring victory just before 2 a.m. the morning after Election Day. AP called the race Wednesday for Kaptur. The final results were slightly outside the 0.5% margin that would have triggered an automatic recount, with Libertarian candidate Tom Pruss scoring around 4% of the vote.
Kaptur, 78, was seen as one of the most vulnerable congressional incumbents of the year, putting Ohio’s 9th Congressional District in the middle of a campaign battle that saw spending top $23 million, according to figures from OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan tracker of campaign finance data.
Merrin was endorsed by Trump and his defeat marks Trump’s first loss in a state that went three times for the president-elect.
Kaptur prevailed over Merrin, 38, who aligned a Republican Ohio House caucus, Jason Stephens, in 2023 after Merrin failed to win the speakership he was promised in an unofficial caucus poll. The infighting, which continues, has reached the level of lawsuits and contributed to a historic lack of legislative action this session.
During the House campaign, Merrin and his Republican allies targeted Kaptur on immigration and the economy. Democrats targeted Merrin because of his support for abortion restrictions, including his work on a bill that would have made certain abortions crimes.
House Speaker Mike Johnson had recruited Merrin for a Republican Party primary.
