How To Use This Guide

1. Pick the issues you care about. Rank the two or three that matter most to you.
2. Find which office handles them. The U.S. House and U.S. Senate write federal law and set the federal budget, and the Senate also confirms federal judges and approves treaties. Statewide Issue 3 would write Ohio’s photo ID rule for in-person voting into the state constitution.
3. Compare the candidates. Read where each candidate stands on your top issues, then read the candidates’ own words and who funds each campaign.

The U.S. House Race

What This Office Does

U.S. House members serve two-year terms and vote on every federal law and the federal budget. All bills that raise taxes must start in the House. The 9th District runs across Ohio’s northwest corner from the Indiana line along the Michigan border and the Lake Erie shore, covering Lucas, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Henry, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam and Williams counties and part of Wood County. ​

The Ohio Redistricting Commission adopted the new map unanimously on Friday, Oct. 31, 2025, after the Legislature missed its deadline, according to Ballotpedia’s Ohio redistricting page. The map added Henry, Paulding and Putnam counties from Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH)’s 5th District and moved Sandusky County and northeast Wood County out, so President Donald Trump would have carried the district by about 10.5 points in 2024 instead of 6.7, according to 13abc’s map report. The cost of living and data centers’ demands on power and water have been central issues in the race.

Candidates In Brief

Republican Derek Merrin is a real estate investor who represented Lucas County in the Ohio House from 2016 to 2024. Merrin lost to Kaptur in 2024 by 48.3% to 47.6% and won this year’s five-way Republican primary on Tuesday, May 5, with 43% of the vote, according to Roll Call. Merrin holds degrees from the University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), the Democratic nominee, is a Toledo native who has held the seat since 1983 and is the longest-serving woman in the history of Congress, according to Cleveland 19’s House race profile. Kaptur was an urban planner, including in the Carter administration, before winning office, according to Ballotpedia’s district overview. Kaptur was unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Where They Stand

Cost of living and tariffs. Merrin lists lowering prices, cutting taxes and creating jobs as top priorities and opposes tariffs on consumer goods, according to 13abc’s rally coverage. Kaptur blames tariffs for rising costs, saying, “We know how much our prices have gone up, for foods, for gasoline, for potash, for fertilizer.”

Data centers. Kaptur has criticized data centers for draining local power and water, and the campaign says, “If data center companies want to do business here, they should pay their fair share,” according to the Ohio Capital Journal. Merrin voted for Ohio’s data center tax breaks as a state representative in 2017.

Experience and change. Merrin says Democrats offer more illegal immigration, more taxes and a bigger federal government, and that Kaptur, after decades in Washington, D.C., is “part of the problem,” according to 13abc’s primary night report. Kaptur calls Merrin “a self-serving politician who has spent his career showing up for himself.”

In Their Own Words

Derek Merrin, at a rally in Holland, as reported by 13abc on Wednesday, Oct. 28:

“I do not support tariffs on consumer goods and those that raise prices.”

Marcy Kaptur, on the House floor, as reported by the Ohio Capital Journal:

“How much more will our citizens be forced to pay for power and water?”

Questionnaires And Debates

Kaptur answered the News-Messenger’s voter guide interview, published Friday, Oct. 30. Merrin did not answer the Ohio Capital Journal’s questions about data centers.

Endorsements

House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) rallied with Merrin at the Lucas County Republican Party headquarters in Holland, calling it “a top five race in America.” Kaptur campaigned the day before with Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA), who chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. The Ohio Conference of Teamsters endorsed Kaptur on Friday, July 10, according to the Teamsters’ endorsement list.

Who Is Funding Them

These figures are Federal Election Commission (FEC) totals for the 2026 cycle as shown on AllCiv’s Ohio 9th District race page as of Wednesday, Oct. 14. Merrin reported raising $2.2 million and spending $1.8 million, with $449,000 on hand and $37,000 in debt. Kaptur reported raising $5.9 million and spending $5.7 million, with $698,000 on hand.

Donors who give more than $200 in a cycle are listed by name in FEC filings. Smaller gifts are reported only as a lump total, so small donors’ names are not public.

The Incumbent’s Record

Kaptur serves on the House Appropriations Committee, where Kaptur is the top Democrat on the energy and water subcommittee, on the House Budget Committee and on the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. This Congress, Kaptur has voted in 634 of 645 roll call votes and voted against most Democrats 45 times out of 591, according to AllCiv’s vote data, a rate AllCiv ranks in the top quarter of the House. Kaptur has cosponsored 187 bills.

Challengers’ Records

Merrin has not served in Congress. Merrin’s campaign says Merrin led Ohio House efforts to cut the state income tax, reduce regulations and expand school choice, and helped pass Ohio’s photo ID voting law and permitless carry of handguns.

The U.S. Senate Race

What This Office Does

U.S. senators vote on every federal law and the federal budget. The Senate also confirms presidential nominees, including federal judges, and approves treaties. This is a special election for the seat JD Vance left to become vice president, so the winner serves two years instead of the usual six, according to Ballotpedia’s Senate race overview.

Candidates In Brief

Libertarian William “Bill” Redpath, a Findlay native who lives in Perrysburg, is a retired certified public accountant who spent about 38 years valuing media and telecommunications businesses. Redpath chaired the Libertarian National Committee from 2006 to 2010 and has run for office as a Libertarian eight times before, according to Redpath’s Ballotpedia profile.

Democrat Sherrod Brown served in the U.S. Senate from 2007 to 2025 and lost reelection in 2024 to Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH), 50.1% to 46.5%. Brown first won a seat in the Ohio House in 1975 at age 22 and later served as Ohio secretary of state and in the U.S. House from 1993 to 2007.

Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH), the Republican nominee, was appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine on Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, after Vance became vice president. Husted served in the Ohio House from 2001 to 2009, including four years as speaker, then in the state Senate, as secretary of state from 2011 to 2019 and as lieutenant governor from 2019 to 2025. Husted was born into foster care and later adopted.

Independent Greg Levy describes Levy as a socialist and is endorsed by the Akron chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, according to Levy’s Ballotpedia profile. Levy has not completed Ballotpedia’s candidate survey.

Where They Stand

Cost of living and taxes. Brown focuses on the costs of groceries, gas, prescription drugs, utilities and health insurance, according to Cleveland 19’s Senate race profile. Husted points to the 2025 tax law, which Husted’s campaign calls “the largest tax cut in our nation’s history,” including the end of federal taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security. Redpath would repeal all tariffs and replace the income tax with a flat 20% individual tax.

Data centers. Brown says developers should cover their full costs, including electricity, and calls Husted “the face of data centers in Ohio,” according to the Statehouse News Bureau. Husted sponsored a bill to press state utility regulators to make data centers pay their own power costs and says Brown “celebrated data centers come into Ohio” as a senator.

Iran. Husted wants assurance that “Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz and doesn’t have a nuclear weapon” and voted against a Democratic war powers resolution. Brown says Husted has voted 14 times against efforts to end the war and pledges to keep pushing to end it. Redpath favors non-interventionism and a smaller defense budget.

Immigration. Brown broke with many Democrats to back stricter border policies and opposes abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but opposes deporting Haitians with Temporary Protected Status (TPS) who are working and contributing. Husted supports the Trump administration’s decision to end TPS for Haitians. Redpath backs open immigration with exceptions for criminals and terrorists.

Health care. Brown would reverse federal Medicaid cuts, lower prescription drug prices and stop insurers from denying necessary care. Redpath would shift Medicaid to the states.

In Their Own Words

Sherrod Brown, on immigration enforcement, in the Statehouse News Bureau report, Thursday, Oct. 29:

“You deport those who have committed those violent crimes.”

Jon Husted, on the war with Iran, in the same report:

“I don’t know anybody that doesn’t want the war to end.”

Questionnaires And Debates

Ideastream Public Media recorded interviews with Brown, Redpath and Levy on Tuesday, Oct. 13, and Husted’s spokesperson canceled Husted’s interview, citing Senate business, according to Ideastream. Redpath completed Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey.

Endorsements

Before the primary, Trump endorsed Husted on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, the day Husted launched the campaign, according to National Newswatch. Husted has also won several building trades unions that previously backed Brown, including the Northwest Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, according to Axios.

Before the primary, the Ohio AFL-CIO endorsed Brown, according to the Ohio AFL-CIO, and the Ohio Conference of Teamsters also backs Brown. Brown also has the support of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the plumbers and pipefitters union, according to Axios.

Who Is Funding Them

These are FEC totals for the 2026 cycle as shown on AllCiv’s Ohio U.S. Senate race page. As of Wednesday, Oct. 14, Brown reported raising $68.4 million, with $4.5 million on hand, Redpath reported raising $55,000, with $8,000 on hand, and Levy reported raising $133,000, with $27,000 on hand. As of Thursday, Oct. 22, Husted reported raising $19.9 million, with $4.2 million on hand.

In October, mailers promoting Levy over Brown were paid for by a new PAC called Enough Promises Ohio, whose vendor shares an address with a firm tied to Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC. Levy called the mailers “dirty tricks,” according to the Associated Press.

The Incumbent’s Record

Husted serves on the Senate Appropriations; Environment and Public Works; Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; Small Business and Entrepreneurship; and Aging committees. This Congress, Husted has voted in all 861 roll call votes and voted against most Republicans six times out of 850, according to AllCiv’s vote data. Husted has cosponsored 158 bills.

Ads in the race have drawn fact-checks. WSYX found that a Husted-approved National Republican Senatorial Committee ad claiming prices rose faster than paychecks during Brown’s career was misleading, since average weekly earnings outpaced prices from 1975 to 2025. It also found that most of the “at least $3.5 million” a Brown ad says FirstEnergy gave Husted went to super PACs, and that Husted has never been charged in the FirstEnergy bribery case.

Challengers’ Records

Brown has a 32-year congressional voting record from the House and Senate. Redpath and Levy have not held public office.

Scorecards Readers Can Check

Heritage Action for America and the AFL-CIO publish scorecards rating Kaptur’s and Husted’s votes. Different groups score different sets of votes, so their ratings measure different things.

Also On Your Ballot

Issue 3: Photo ID To Vote. A Yes vote adds Ohio’s current photo ID requirement for in-person voting to the state constitution, so changing it would take another statewide vote. A No vote leaves the rule in state law, where lawmakers can change it by a simple majority. Voting by mail is not covered, and the measure would not change what IDs voters need today, according to the Ohio Capital Journal’s Issue 3 explainer. The Legislature placed it on the ballot in June through Senate Joint Resolution 10.

Supporters include Secretary of State Frank LaRose, Republican governor nominee Vivek Ramaswamy, Democratic governor nominee Amy Acton and state Sen. Jerry Cirino (R-Kirtland), who says, “I truly believe it belongs in the Constitution,” according to Cleveland 19’s Issue 3 report. Opponents include state Sen. Bill DeMora (D-Columbus), state Rep. Terrence Upchurch (D-Cleveland), the ACLU of Ohio and the League of Women Voters of Ohio, who call it redundant and warn it could lock in rules as IDs go digital.

Before You Go

Still Ahead

  • Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls are open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and anyone in line at 7:30 p.m. may vote. Find your polling place through the Ohio Secretary of State’s elections FAQ.
  • Mail ballots must reach your county board of elections by 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3, because a new state law ended the four-day grace period for late-arriving mail ballots, according to the Dayton Daily News. Return it in person or at your board’s drop box if time is short.
  • Photo ID: Bring an unexpired photo ID, such as an Ohio driver license or state ID card, a U.S. passport or passport card or a military ID. Without one, you may cast a provisional ballot and show ID at your county board of elections within four days after the election.
  • In the booth: You may bring notes, printed or on your phone, but you may not wear clothing that promotes a candidate, party or issue inside the polling place, and campaigning is barred within 100 feet, according to Ideastream’s guide to polling place rules.
  • Questions: Call or text the nonpartisan Election Protection hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683).

Deadlines That Have Passed

  • Registration closed Monday, Oct. 5.
  • Mail ballot requests were due Tuesday, Oct. 27.
  • Early voting ended at 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, according to the ACLU of Ohio’s election calendar.

Sources

AllCiv Profiles and Race Pages

Official Records

Candidate Statements and Questionnaires

News

Ballot Measures

Endorsements

Scorecards

Voting Information

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