# Ohio's 9th District race 2026

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D) faces Derek Merrin (R). One other candidate is also on the ballot.

- Office: U.S. House
- Rating: Toss-up (Cook Political Report, Oct 23, 2026)
- Election Day: Tuesday, November 3, 2026
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/election/oh-9/
- Back to [Election Headquarters](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/election/)

## Who is running

- Derek Merrin (Republican): challenger
- Marcy Kaptur (Democrat): incumbent
- Matthew Althaus (Libertarian): challenger

## The facts

- Cook Political Report rates the race Toss-up as of Oct. 23, 2026. (Cook, via 270toWin)
- Marcy Kaptur (D) was first elected in 1982. (Wikipedia)
- Wikipedia lists the district's Partisan Voting Index as R+5. (Wikipedia)

## Why this race matters to conservatives (opinion)

Rep. Marcy Kaptur is a Democrat in a seat Republicans can win. Cook rates it Toss-up.

This section is the opinion of RightNewsRightNow. The rest of the page is reporting.

## Where these facts come from

- [Cook Political Report](https://www.270towin.com/2026-house-election/cook-political-report-2026-house-ratings): current rating, as of Oct 23, 2026
- [Wikipedia (election pages, with their cited sources)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections): candidate and race facts