This story has been updated with new information.
Ohio Democrats unveiled a congressional map on Sept. 9 that would give Republicans the edge in 8 of 15 seats — a balance that they say matches how Ohioans vote.
The proposed map — which is almost certainly dead on arrival in the state’s Republican-controlled Legislature — would leave the 13th Congressional District largely untouched. The district covers half of Stark County and all of Summit County.
Ohio’s current congressional delegation includes 10 Republicans and five Democrats. The Democrats’ proposal would add two districts that Democrats could win: one in the Cleveland area, currently represented by Republican Rep. Max Miller, and a second in northern Franklin County and parts of Delaware County, effectively drawing out GOP Rep. Mike Carey.
The map would also:
Lake Township and Hartville in Stark County would shift from the 13th district to the 6th district, while Perry Township would go from the 6th to the 13th district.
Experts consider the 13th Congressional District a focus of Republicans in the 2026 mid-term elections. The district is represented now by Democrat Emilia Sykes of Akron who already is facing a challenge from Republican Kevin Coughlin of Bath Township. She defeated him in the previous race.
“As the redistricting process plays out, my hope is that legislators in both parties work together to put forward a map that allows voters to choose their elected officials and not the other way around,” Sykes said in a prepared statement.
Why is Ohio drawing a new congressional map?
In 2018, Ohio voters approved new rules to improve redistricting, the process of redrawing districts where candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives run. One of those rules required both Republicans and Democrats to vote for the congressional map for it to last 10 years.
No Democrats voted for the current GOP-crafted districts, so the map must be redrawn.
Ohio leaders have until the end of November to approve a new map that will last through the 2030 elections. Lawmakers get the first crack at redrawing a map in September, then the mapmaking shifts to the seven-member Ohio Redistricting Commission in October before returning to state legislators in November.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati, told the statehouse bureau. “The easy way is to follow the law and have fair maps that accurately represent the people of Ohio, and if those are the maps that we have in September, then I think it will pass with overwhelming bipartisan support.”
“If they continue to follow the president’s orders to try and rig the elections and steal as many congressional districts as they can from the people of Ohio, then I think the process will drag out,” Isaacsohn said.
Elected officials in other states are voluntarily redrawing congressional districts to increase Republican or Democratic seats before the 2026 elections, which will determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance and top legislative leaders are pressuring state lawmakers nationwide to engage in this redistricting arms race.
Ohio Democrats take a different tack
Ohio Democrats have few cards to play in this redistricting fight.
Republicans have a veto-proof majority in the Ohio Legislature, control five of seven spots on the Ohio Redistricting Commission and hold six of seven seats on the Ohio Supreme Court, which will determine whether the map complies with redistricting rules approved in 2018.
But Democrats appear determined to play their limited cards better than they did in 2021 and 2022. This time around, House and Senate Democrats are jointly proposing a map in early September before Republicans unveil theirs. In 2021, Senate Democrats introduced a map at the end of September, and House Democrats didn’t pitch one until months later.
Ohio Democrats could have some leverage if Republicans are worried about a lawsuit or a ballot campaign to block a GOP-friendly map. If Republicans delay, they could need Democratic votes for the map to take effect before the candidates’ February filing deadline.
State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@gannett.com or @jbalmert on X.
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Ohio Democrats unveil new congressional map as debate over redistricting heats up
Reporting by Jessie Balmert, Columbus Dispatch / The Repository
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