A Trump-backed Republican will challenge the longest-serving woman in Congress after a rollercoaster contest that became about allegiance to the former president.
Derek Merrin, an Ohio state lawmaker who earned former President Donald Trump’s endorsement on the eve of the election, won the primary for Ohio’s 9th Congressional District on Tuesday. He will now compete against Rep. Marcy Kaptur (R-OH), who has represented the Toledo area since 1983.
Another Republican, Craig Reidel, had been seen as the party’s best chance at defeating Kaptur, whose district was reconfigured to favor Republicans, yet he lost the support of members of House leadership after a leaked tape in which he called the former president “arrogant.” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) recruited Merrin to make a last-minute bid for the seat.
Merrin captured 48% of the vote to Riedel’s 39% when the Associated
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