The Winner

If you live in Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District, Rep. Dave Taylor (R-OH) will keep representing you after winning a second term. The Associated Press called the race for Taylor at 9:06 p.m. Eastern time on election night, Tuesday, Nov. 3. ​

Taylor has 175,534 votes (64.3%) to 97,669 (35.7%) for Democrat Jen Mazzuckelli, a margin of about 29 points, with an estimated 98% of votes counted, according to Associated Press election results. He returns to a House where Republicans will be in the minority.

The Race

Taylor beat Bob Carr 75% to 25% in the May 5 Republican primary, while Mazzuckelli beat Todd Wilson 53.3% to 46.7% for the Democratic nomination, according to Ballotpedia’s race page. Cook Political Report and Inside Elections rated the race Solid Republican, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball rated it Safe Republican.

Mazzuckelli, a former high school English teacher, lost a 2024 race for Clermont County commissioner, according to WVXU. Taylor’s share fell from the 73.6% he won in 2024, though that race was held under different district lines.

This was the first election under the map the Ohio Redistricting Commission approved in October 2025, which pushed the district deeper east into rural Appalachia. It now runs from the Cincinnati suburbs through Portsmouth to Athens, according to Cook Political Report.

About 787,100 people live there, and residents are 92.8% white, 1.9% Black, 1.7% Hispanic and 0.6% Asian. The median household income is $66,400, and the median age is 41. Of adults, 21.2% hold at least a bachelor’s degree, unemployment is 4.3% and 15% of residents live below the poverty line.

What’s Next

Taylor’s new term begins Sunday, Jan. 3. He serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure and Agriculture committees and is vice chair of a transportation subcommittee on water resources, according to his AllCiv committee profile, and Democrats will chair those panels in the new Congress.

His Expanding Appalachia’s Broadband Access Act passed the House in March and would have the Government Accountability Office study whether satellite internet can serve rural businesses that seek Appalachian Regional Commission broadband funding. He has also introduced a resolution backing a study of an Interstate 73 corridor across southern Ohio.

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