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Ohio's 7th Congressional District election, 2026 (May 5 Democratic primary)

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← 2024
Ohio's 7th Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: February 4, 2026
Primary: May 5, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Voting in Ohio

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Ohio's 7th Congressional District
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Ohio elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

A Democratic Party primary takes place on May 5, 2026, in Ohio's 7th Congressional District to determine which Democratic candidate will run in the district's general election on November 3, 2026.

Candidate filing deadline Primary election General election
February 4, 2026
May 5, 2026
November 3, 2026



A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Ohio law provides for closed primaries, meaning a voter must be affiliated with a party to vote in that party's primary. However, a voter of any affiliation can choose the ballot they would like to vote on the day of the primary, and their choice may be regarded as registration with that party.[1][2]

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

This page focuses on Ohio's 7th Congressional District Democratic primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Republican primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 7

Michael Eisner, Ed FitzGerald, and Scott Schulz are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 7 on May 5, 2026.

Candidate
Image of Michael Eisner
Michael Eisner Candidate Connection
Image of Ed FitzGerald
Ed FitzGerald
Image of Scott Schulz
Scott Schulz

There are no incumbents in this race.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Michael Eisner

Image of Michael Eisner

WebsiteFacebook

Party: Democratic Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "I'm Michael Eisner (call me Mike!), and I'm running for Congress to restore the American Dream for working families here in Ohio's 7th District. I live in Solon with my wife and our blended family of five children. I've taught our kids to be "upstanders," not bystanders—and that's how I've lived my life. For 30 years, I've been a lawyer fighting for everyday people against powerful interests. I've helped over 3,000 people get justice. My philosophy is simple: treat every client like they are the only one, and bring compassion into every case. As a cancer survivor, I'm healthy and strong today because of NIH-funded research and access to healthcare. That experience showed me how critical it is that everyone—not just the privileged—has access to quality, affordable care. Watching this administration cut healthcare access and funding for medical research pushed me to take this fight to Congress. I believe in compassion over cruelty and a strong economy that works for everyone, not just billionaires. Unlike the current seat holder who won't hold town halls, I've already done dozens of unscripted community meetings. I show up. I listen. I learn. As your representative, I will continue to be available, visible, and accountable—fighting for solutions that work for you. I'm running to be A Voice for All. Together, we can restore the American Dream for our families and generations to come."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

AFFORDABILITY AND REPRESENTATION Working families struggle with crushing costs while billionaires get tax cuts. Tariffs hurt small businesses and farmers. Student debt blocks homeownership—first-time buyers now average 39. Yet the current seat holder hides and casts deciding votes that hurt you. I hold town halls and show up. I'll fight for: Congressional tariff oversight; affordable college and trade schools; job training for AI-displaced workers; reasonably-priced housing; collective bargaining rights; and accessible healthcare. Your representative should be visible, available, and accountable—fighting to restore your American Dream, not serving donors. That's the difference. I'll be A Voice for All.

HEALTHCARE IS A RIGHT, NOT A PRIVILEGE I beat cancer thanks to NIH-funded research and access to care. Too many Ohioans aren't as fortunate, 340,000+ risk losing coverage due to budget cuts. You and your doctor should make your medical decisions, not insurance executives and politicians. The current seat holder was the deciding vote to gut the ACA and Medicaid. He chose to follow his party over your health. I pledge to choose Ohioans —every time. I'll fight to expand affordable coverage, protect your relationship with your doctors, give you real choices in plans, and stop insurers from blocking the care you need. Affordable healthcare isn't just about saving lives. It's essential to the American Dream.

DEFENDING YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND RESTORING THE AMERICAN DREAM Our Constitution guarantees equal rights for all—regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, or views. Yet today: citizens detained without probable cause, press threatened for reporting facts, peaceful protesters called terrorists, LGBTQ+ Americans facing discrimination, families separated without due process. The current seat holder stayed silent. I'll fight: against executive overreach and retaliation; for probable cause; a free press; equal rights for everyone; and, judicial independence. These aren't Democratic or Republican ideas—they're American ideas. Protecting these rights restores the American Dream. I'll be A Voice for All.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Ohio

Ballotpedia will publish the dates and deadlines related to this election as they are made available.

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Michael Eisner Democratic Party $23,708 $9,516 $14,193 As of September 30, 2025
Ed FitzGerald Democratic Party $32,955 $23,209 $9,746 As of September 30, 2025
Scott Schulz Democratic Party $0 $0 $0 Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

  • District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
  • Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
  • State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.


Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

2023_01_03_oh_congressional_district_07.jpg
See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026
Information about competitiveness will be added here as it becomes available.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+5. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 5 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Ohio's 7th the 188th most Republican district nationally.[3]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.

2024 presidential results in Ohio's 7th Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic Party Donald Trump Republican Party
43.9% 55.3%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Ohio, 2024

Ohio presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 12 Democratic wins
  • 19 Republican wins
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winning Party R R R D D R R R D D D R D R R R D R R D R R R D D R R D D R R R
See also: Party control of Ohio state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Ohio's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Ohio
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 0 5 5
Republican 2 10 12
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 15 17

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Ohio's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Ohio, October 2025
Office Officeholder
Governor Republican Party Richard Michael DeWine
Lieutenant Governor Republican Party Jim Tressel
Secretary of State Republican Party Frank LaRose
Attorney General Republican Party Dave Yost

State legislature

Ohio State Senate

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 9
     Republican Party 24
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 33

Ohio House of Representatives

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 34
     Republican Party 65
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 99

Trifecta control

Ohio Party Control: 1992-2025
No Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-seven years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
Senate R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
House D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Ohio in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Ohio, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Ohio U.S. House Major party 50 $85 2/4/2026 Source
Ohio U.S. House Minor party 25 $85 2/4/2026 Source
Ohio U.S. House Unaffiliated 1% of the vote cast for governor in the district in the last election $85 5/4/2026 Source

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Ohio Laws and Administrative Codes, "Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3513.19," accessed December 19, 2025
  2. ↑ Ohio Laws and Administrative Codes, "Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3513.05," accessed December 19, 2025
  3. ↑ Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025


Ohio's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Jon Husted (R)
Bernie Moreno (R)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
Bob Latta (R)
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
Republican Party (12)
Democratic Party (5)


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