House Dem projected to hold onto seat in closely watched race eyed by GOP as potential flip

Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes is projected to survive her closely watched re-election bid by defeating her GOP challenger.

The Associated Press called the race for Ohio’s 13th Congressional District for Sykes over former Ohio state Sen. Kevin Coughlin on Wednesday just before 3 p.m. ET.

Sykes, a first-term Democrat who won in 2022 by five points, was defending her seat in a district that includes parts of two counties that former President Trump comfortably won in 2020. 

“This is as 50/50 of a district as it comes,” Sykes said. “It has been rated as such all across the country and there are all eyes on Ohio’s 13th Congressional District.”

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Sykes comes from a well-established political family in Akron. Both her parents served as state lawmakers and her father, Vernon Sykes, currently serves as a state senator in Ohio.

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Coughlin has served in Ohio as both a state representative and state senator and has spent over 10 years since leaving office in the business sector.

The Sykes campaign criticized Coughlin for his time as a lobbyist and accused him of being a “self-serving politician” who would legislate as extreme on the issue of abortion. 

Coughlin has accused Sykes of not living in the district, an allegation she denies, and the Summit County Board of Elections recently deadlocked along party lines investigating a complaint about her residency and voting status.

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Ohio’s 13th District was a race that Republicans had focused time and money on after identifying it as one of their best opportunities to flip a seat and maintain control of the House.