COLUMBUS — In a race that many said tested the former president Donald Trump’s status as Republican Party kingmaker, Mike Carey, a Trump-endorsed coal lobbyist, topped 10 other GOP hopefuls in the race to fill an open U.S. House seat from central Ohio.
He will face off against state Rep. Allison Russo (D-Upper Arlington) in a Nov. 2 special election to replace Steve Stivers, who retired from Congress earlier this year.
The contrast between Allison and her Republican opponent couldn’t be more clear: Allison is on the side of working families while special-interest lobbyist Mike Carey represents everything wrong with politics. He’s spent his career and campaign boosted by special interests who know that he’ll have their backs in Congress — not working Ohioans’. We look forward to showing Ohio voters who’s on their side as we work to elect Allison Russo to Congress and put working families first in the 15th District and across the state. -Ohio Democratic Party Chair Elizabeth Walters
Carey’s win helped shore up Trump’s reputation as a force in the party after his preferred candidate lost a Texas special election last week.
Republicans across Ohio’s 15th Congressional District sent a clear message to the nation that President Donald J. Trump is, without a doubt, the leader of our party. I could not be more grateful for his support, and I am proud to deliver this win to advance his America First agenda. -Mike Carey
The contest was one of two in Ohio viewed as a measure of voters’ mood and influences during a political transition period.
Cuyahoga County Council member Shontel Brown scored a victory for the Democratic establishment in a Cleveland fight against progressive Nina Turner that became a proxy for tensions between Democrats’ old guard and the more confrontational liberals coming up behind it.