Ohio's 9th Congressional District election, 2024 (March 19 Republican primary)

	2026 → ← 2022
Ohio's 9th Congressional District
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election
Election details
	Filing deadline: December 20, 2023
	Primary: March 19, 2024; General: November 5, 2024
How to vote
	Poll times: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Voting in Ohio
Race ratings
	Cook Political Report: Lean Democratic; DDHQ and The Hill: Lean Democratic; Inside Elections: Tilt Democratic; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
	U.S. Senate battlegrounds; U.S. House battlegrounds; Federal and state primary competitiveness; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2024
See also
	Ohio's 9th Congressional District; U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th • 12th • 13th • 14th • 15th; Ohio elections, 2024; U.S. Congress elections, 2024; U.S. Senate elections, 2024; U.S. House elections, 2024; Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House racesOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

Ohio 2024 elections

U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Congressional special elections • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • Supreme court • Appellate courts • State ballot measures • Local ballot measures • Municipal • Recalls • All other local • How to run for office

Derek Merrin (R) defeated Steve Lankenau (R) and Craig Riedel (R) in the Republican primary for Ohio's 9th Congressional District on March 19, 2024.

J.R. Majewski (R) filed to run in the Republican primary. He suspended his candidacy on March 2, 2024, after the Lucas County Republican Party censured him for "remarks made about persons with disabilities and special needs."^[1]^[2] To read our coverage of these events, click here.

In the 2022 Republican primary, Majewski won with 35.7%, and Riedel came in second with 31%. Lankenau and Merrin did not run in the primary. In the general election, incumbent Marcy Kaptur (D) defeated Majewski 56.6% to 43.4%.

Lankenau worked in commercial real estate. Lankenau said, “I’m running for Congress to be a commonsense voice for northwest Ohio. I’ll fight for our manufacturing, agriculture and energy industries that are the engines of progress in our district and to keep costs low for families.”^[3]

Majewski worked in the nuclear industry in project management positions and served four years in the U.S. Air Force.^[4] Majewski said he believes the district deserves representation from “someone who’s not a career politician that follows political party narratives instead of fighting for the people.”^[5] In September 2022, the Associated Press reported that Majewski misrepresented his military service. Majewski denied the accusations.^[6]

Merrin was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives. His professional experience included work as a real estate investor.^[7] Merrin said he was the candidate with the most conservative voting record and the best chance at winning the general election. “I have a 14-year record that you can judge me on how I voted. Fourteen years of standing on every conservative issue on the conservative side and never losing an election,” said Merrin.^[8]

Riedel was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 2017 to 2022. His professional experience includes work as a design engineer and sales manager in the steel industry.^[9] Reidel said he is "committed to advocating for policies that support economic growth, protect individual rights and liberties, and promote limited government."^[9]

House GOP leadership has split their endorsements in this primary. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) endorsed Merrin.^[10] Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) endorsed Riedel.^[11] Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) endorsed Riedel but withdrew her endorsement after the Charlie Kirk Show aired audio of Riedel criticizing former President Donald Trump (R). After the audio aired Riedel announced his endorsement of Trump in the 2024 presidential election and said, “Matt Gaetz and a social media trickster pulled a stunt yesterday to try and convince President Trump to get involved in my congressional primary for proven loser JR Majewski.” Stefanik had not endorsed anyone else in this primary.^[12] Majewski received endorsements from Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) and Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.).^[13]

This is one of 15 elections across the country in which Speaker of the U.S. House Mike Johnson endorsed a Republican candidate in a primary race. Twelve endorsees have advanced from their primaries. One endorsee withdrew. Three of these races have not occurred. To see a full list of these endorsements click here.

This page focuses on Ohio's 9th Congressional District Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Candidates and election results

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 9

Derek Merrin defeated Craig Riedel and Steve Lankenau in the Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 9 on March 19, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Derek Merrin	52.5	27,632
		Craig Riedel	34.3	18,072
	Submit photo	Steve Lankenau	13.2	6,946

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2	Total votes: 52,650
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Terry Smith (R)
Daniel Wilczynski (R)
J.R. Majewski (R) (Unofficially withdrew)

Voting information

See also: Voting in Ohio

Election information in Ohio: March 19, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Feb. 20, 2024
By mail: Received by Feb. 20, 2024
Online: Feb. 20, 2024

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: March 12, 2024
By mail: Received by March 12, 2024
Online: March 12, 2024

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: March 19, 2024
By mail: Postmarked by March 18, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

N/A

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Feb. 21, 2024 to March 19, 2024

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

6:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. (CST)

Candidate comparison

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.

Derek Merrin

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography: "I am the Republican nominee for Ohio's 9th Congressional District. I am currently serving as a state representative in the Ohio legislature. I am a conservative lawmaker with 20 legislative victories from sponsored bills and amendments that are making Ohioians lives better daily. I hold a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toledo and a Master of Public Administration degree from Bowling Green State University. I live currently in Monclova Township. I'm an enthusiastic Bengals fan and a real estate investor and played basketball for my high school, Monclova Christian Academy."

Key Messages

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

The Biden/Kaptur economic policies are crushing Northwest Ohio families. Kaptur and Biden have instituted a tax-and-spend agenda that has resulted in inflation, outrageous costs at the grocery store, and put future generations of Northwest Ohioans on the hook for a skyrocketing national debt. As a Member of Congress, I will do everything I can to get America’s fiscal house in order. I support a constitutional amendment to require a balanced budget; America should only spend within our means. We must address the high cost of living, reduce Northwest Ohio’s tax burden, and bring American jobs back to America.

The reckless open-border policies of Marcy Kaptur and the Biden administration have allowed mass illegal immigration. Marcy Kaptur never met an illegal immigrant she didn't want to give an American job. The Biden and Kaptur policies have created the worst border crisis in American history, flooding our communities with illicit drugs like fentanyl and emboldening criminal cartels. As a Member of Congress, I will continue to champion a secure border to ensure the safety of Northwest Ohio families. I support sending the military to secure the border to stop drug cartels and human trafficking. Furthermore, we must finish Trump's wall and deport illegal immigrants.

Northwest Ohioans deserve to know their Social Security and Medicare benefits will remain secure. In 1983, when Marcy Kaptur first took office, Social Security and Medicare were in a stronger position. Over the past 40 years, Marcy Kaptur has stood by as they have become fragile and at risk of becoming insolvent. As a Member of Congress, I will protect our earned benefits that provide safety and security to elder Americans. Also, I support removing the federal tax burden on Social Security benefits as well as eliminating the windfall provision that penalizes hardworking Americans.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Ohio District 9 in 2024.

Craig Riedel

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office:

Ohio House of Representatives (2017-2022)

Biography: Riedel received a degree in civil engineering from the Ohio State University. His professional experience includes work as a design engineer and sales manager in the steel industry.

Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

Riedel signed the U.S. Term Limits pledge and said, "I'm here to serve my community—not myself."

On immigration, Riedel said he would "fight to secure funding to complete President Trump's border wall, ensure that our law enforcement is adequately funded and equipped to do their jobs in keeping Americans safe and advocate for policies to strengthen our borders and eliminate the constant flow of illegal immigrants."

Regarding the economy, Riedel said he would "work to lower taxes, reduce regulations, and expand incentives for businesses, so they can continue to create good-paying jobs."

Show sources

Sources: Craig Riedel Twitter page, "There is no better case for term limits than Marcy Kaptur's 4-decade reign in Congress. That's why I'm proud to announce that I've again signed the Congressional term limits pledge. I'm here to serve my community--not myself," July 10, 2023; Craig Riedel campaign website, "Issues," accessed February 14, 2024; Craig Riedel campaign website, "Issues," accessed February 14, 2024; Craig Riedel campaign website, "Meet Craig," accessed February 14, 2024

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Ohio District 9 in 2024.

Campaign advertisements

This section includes a selection of up to three campaign advertisements per candidate released in this race, as well as links to candidates' YouTube, Vimeo, and/or Facebook video pages. If you are aware of other links that should be included, please email us.

Steve Lankenau

View more ads here:

Facebook

J.R. Majewski

January 28, 2024

View more ads here:

Derek Merrin

Ballotpedia did not come across any campaign ads for Derek Merrin while conducting research on this election. If you are aware of any ads that should be included, please email us.

Craig Riedel

January 11, 2024

View more ads here:

Satellite ads

This section includes a selection of campaign advertisements released by satellite groups. If you are aware of other satellite ads that should be included, please email us.

Congressional Leadership Fund

The Congressional Leadership Fund released an ad in support of Merrin .

Twitter^[14]

Endorsements

See also: Ballotpedia: Our approach to covering endorsements

Click the links below to see official endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites for any candidates that make that information available. If you are aware of a website that should be included, please email us.

Election Competitiveness

Polls

See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls

We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from FiveThirtyEight and RealClearPolitics, when available. No polls were available for this election. To notify us of polls published in this election, please email us.

Race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[15]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[16]^[17]^[18]

Race ratings: Ohio's 9th Congressional District election, 2024
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2024	October 29, 2024	October 22, 2024	October 15, 2024
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Tilt Democratic	Tilt Democratic	Tilt Democratic	Tilt Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic	Lean Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Election spending

Campaign finance

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Steve Lankenau	Republican Party	$135,833	$135,833	$0	As of September 30, 2024
Derek Merrin	Republican Party	$1,722,804	$1,646,153	$78,751	As of December 31, 2024
Craig Riedel	Republican Party	$1,298,355	$1,297,070	$1,284	As of December 31, 2024
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. 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.

Satellite spending

See also: Satellite spending

Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.^[19]^[20]^[21]

If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.

By candidate	By election
Steve Lankenau J.R. Majewski Derek Merrin Craig Riedel	Open Secrets Federal Election Commission

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 2024 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.

District map

Competitiveness
Presidential elections

State party control

Below was the map in use at the time of the election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2024

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Ohio.

Ohio U.S. House competitiveness, 2014-2024
Office	Districts/ offices	Seats	Open seats	Candidates	Possible primaries	Contested Democratic primaries	Contested Republican primaries	% of contested primaries	Incumbents in contested primaries	% of incumbents in contested primaries
2024	15	15	2	61	30	6	8	46.7%	4	30.8%
2022	15	15	1	67	30	8	10	60.0%	6	42.9%
2020	16	16	0	67	32	11	11	68.8%	10	62.5%
2018	16	16	2	82	32	12	11	71.9%	8	57.1%
2016	16	16	1	59	32	5	5	31.3%	4	26.7%
2014	16	16	0	47	32	6	6	37.5%	5	31.3%

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Ohio in 2024. Information below was calculated on 2/12/2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Seventy candidates filed to run for Ohio's 15 U.S. House districts, including 28 Democrats and 42 Republicans. That was 4.7 candidates per district, the most since 2018.

In 2022, the first election after the number of Congressional districts in Ohio decreased from 16 to 15 following the 2020 census, 4.5 candidates ran. In 2020, when the state still had 16 Congressional districts, 4.2 candidates filed per district. In 2018, 5.1 candidates filed.

The total number of candidates who ran for the U.S. House in 2024 was also higher than any other year this decade besides 2018, when 82 candidates ran.

Two districts—the 2nd and the 6th—were open, meaning no incumbents filed to run. That was more than in 2022, when only one district was open, and 2020, when none were.

Rep. Bill Johnson (R), the incumbent in the 6th District, resigned on Jan. 21 to assume the presidency of Youngstown State University. A special election to fill Johnson’s seat took place place on June 11.

Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R), the incumbent in the 2nd district, retired from public office. Eleven candidates—one Democrat and 10 Republicans—ran to replace Wenstrup, the most candidates who ran for a district in 2024.

Fourteen primaries—six Democratic and eight Republican—were contested. That was the fewest contested primaries since 2016, when 10 were. Between 2014 and 2022, an average of 17 primaries were contested.

Three incumbents faced primary challengers, a decade-low. The three incumbents—Reps. Bob Latta (5th), Warren Davidson (8th), and David Joyce (14th)—were Republican.

Democratic and Republican candidates filed to run in all districts, meaning none were guaranteed to either party.

Partisan Voter Index

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

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+3. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 3 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Ohio's 9th the 204th most Republican district nationally.^[22]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

2020 presidential results in Ohio's 9th based on 2024 district lines
Joe Biden	Donald Trump
47.7%	50.6%

Inside Elections Baselines

See also: Inside Elections

Inside Elections' Baseline is a figure that analyzes all federal and statewide election results from the district over the past four election cycles. The results are combined in an index estimating the strength of a typical Democratic or Republican candidate in the congressional district.^[23] The table below displays the Baseline data for this district.

Inside Elections Baseline for 2024
Democratic Baseline	Republican Baseline	Difference
47.3	50.9	R+3.6

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Ohio, 2020

Ohio presidential election results (1900-2020)

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
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

See also: Party control of Ohio state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Ohio's congressional delegation as of May 2024.

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 May 2024.

State executive officials in Ohio, May 2024
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Richard Michael DeWine
Lieutenant Governor	Jon Husted
Secretary of State	Frank LaRose
Attorney General	Dave Yost

State legislature

Ohio State Senate

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	7
	Republican Party	26
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		33

Ohio House of Representatives

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	31
	Republican Party	66
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		99

Trifecta control

The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.

Ohio Party Control: 1992-2024
No Democratic trifectas • Twenty-six 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
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
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
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

Election context

Ballot access requirements

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Ohio in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Ohio, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Ohio	U.S. House	Major party	50	$85.00	12/20/2023	Source
Ohio	U.S. House	Minor party	25	$85.00	3/18/2024	Source
Ohio	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	1% of the vote cast for governor in the district in the last election	$85.00	3/18/2024	Source

District election history

2022

See also: Ohio's 9th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Ohio District 9

Incumbent Marcy Kaptur defeated J.R. Majewski in the general election for U.S. House Ohio District 9 on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Marcy Kaptur (D)	56.6	150,655
	J.R. Majewski (R)	43.4	115,362

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 266,017
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Youseff Baddar (Independent)

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 9

Incumbent Marcy Kaptur advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 9 on May 3, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Marcy Kaptur	100.0	32,968

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 32,968
= 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.
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