Voters in Ohio’s 15th Congressional District will send one of two Democrats on to challenge a GOP incumbent for a seat that leans Republican.
Former Ohio Rep. Adam Miller and Ohio State University professor Don Leonard are facing off in the Democratic primary. The winner will advance to the November general election to face Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Carey, who is running unopposed in his party’s primary.
The 15th District stretches across much of central and southern Ohio, including parts of Franklin County not in the 3rd District, like Grove City, Hilliard and Dublin, plus Madison County. In recent cycles, the district has favored Republicans, even as its boundaries have shifted through multiple rounds of redistricting.
Carey first won the seat in a 2021 special election following the resignation of former Rep. Steve Stivers, securing a full term in 2022 and having held the seat since. Carey was slated to have a longshot primary challenger in Samuel Ronan, but he was removed from the race after a federal judge ruled April 6 that he’d lied about being a Republican.
Miller, 61, previously worked as a public school teacher and administrator, served in the military and later became a state representative. He has framed his campaign around education, social justice and veterans’ affairs, and he’s positioned himself as a candidate with extensive public service experience.
Leonard, 47, has been an Ohio State University professor of city and regional planning for the past decade. His campaign has focused on accessible health care, housing and childcare, and he’s generally emphasized concerns about wages and cost-of-living pressures for working families.
Polls closed at 7:30 p.m., and results are expected to be finalized later this evening.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Democrats Adam Miller, Don Leonard battle for chance to face Rep. Mike Carey
Reporting by Emma Wozniak, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
