Republican Kevin Coughlin is hoping the second time’s the charm by launching his 2026 congressional campaign against Rep. Emilia Sykes (D-OH), and upcoming redistricting could help boost his chances after losing in 2024.
Coughlin said in a post announcing his campaign that he “can’t sit on the sidelines while [Sykes] continues to put her party ahead of the families of northeast Ohio.”
“In the first days of her second term, she voted to shut down the government and refused to join bipartisan efforts to bring the NASA headquarters — and thousands of jobs — to Northeast Ohio,” the Republican candidate said in a release. “We need a member of Congress who will stand with President Trump to fight for our community, our safety, and to provide reliable leadership with real solutions.”
Coughlin, a former state senator, faced Sykes, a freshman member at the time, in the 2024 election. The congresswoman won reelection, 51.1% to 48.9%. But that margin could shrink or even flip to a red victory thanks to redistricting set to begin this year in the Ohio state Legislature.
“Congresswoman Sykes is a results-oriented leader with an undeniable record of fighting for Northeast Ohioans – focusing on lowering costs, creating good paying jobs, and keeping our communities safe,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Viet Shelton told the Washington Examiner. “Kevin Coughlin is a corrupt, out-of-touch loser who’s only running so he can work with Elon Musk to dismantle Social Security and gut Medicaid to pay for billionaire tax breaks. Voters have already rejected him once and will do so again in 2026.”
Ohio’s 13th District is one of 10 seats rated as Democratic “toss-ups” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. Sykes’s district is not one of the 13 represented by a Democrat but won by President Donald Trump in the 2024 election. But her and Rep. Marcy Kaptur’s (D-OH) seats are the most vulnerable in Ohio as a redraw of the state’s congressional map is expected to make them easier for Republicans to flip.
“Emilia Sykes is nothing but a rubber stamp for the far Left, completely out of touch with the people of Northwest Ohio,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Zach Bannon told the Washington Examiner. “From voting to shut down the government and raise taxes to supporting open borders, Sykes is too extreme for Ohio. That’s why she’ll be out of a job next November.”
Issue 1 on the ballot last November would alter the redistricting process and take authority away from Ohio politicians. Instead, a 15-member Ohio Citizens’ Redistricting Commission comprised of Republican, Democratic, and independent citizens who represent the demographics of the state would decide the new congressional maps.
But the ballot measure failed, 46.3% to 53.7%, leaving redistricting power in the hands of the legislature. Ohio’s laws require maps to be redrawn every four years without the support of both parties. If they get bipartisan support, they last for 10 years.
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Democrats are on defense this cycle, with 39 competitive seats to defend compared to the 29 ranked competitive for the GOP. But due to slim margins in the House, Democrats only need a net gain of three seats to take back the majority and break up the Republican trifecta.
Historically, the House flips to the party opposite the White House in the midterms, so the pressure is on Democrats to target vulnerable Republicans. The party is doing so now, particularly regarding recent executive orders by President Donald Trump and the actions taken by billionaire Trump adviser and Tesla mogul Elon Musk to reduce the size of the government.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for comment.