(Ohio Capital Journal Photo) The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Ohio’s U.S. congressional races in 2026 are beginning to take shape, and with a razor-thin majority in the U.S. House, and a traditionally unfavorable cycle for the party in power, each competitive race this year could make a big difference.

Two Democratic challengers have announced bids for Ohio congressional seats this month while a prominent Republican said she would try to unseat a long-serving Democrat.

The party of the sitting president almost always loses seats in midterm elections, and the Republican majority in the House of Representatives is already slim. Add to that President Donald Trump’s plummeting approval, and Democrats are hoping that once-unobtainable seats are now in play.

Last week the nonpartisan Cook Political Report changed its ratings of 18 House races — all of them in favor of Democrats.

In one Ohio race, political newcomer Kristina Knickerbocker announced her run as a Democrat for the Dayton-area Congressional district 10 seat occupied by Republican Mike Turner.

FILE - Theodore Tanczuk, of solar installer YellowLite, carries a panel from his truck to the roof of a home in Lakewood, Ohio, Wednesday, April 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

The district was made slightly less competitive last year in a redrawing done by Ohio Republicans that Democrats agreed to. It further gerrymandered state congressional districts, but not as badly as Republicans threatened.

The Cook Political Report still rates the district as solid Republican, but the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee thinks it can be flipped.

Knickerbocker, 34, is a nurse practitioner and an Air Force veteran.

In a video announcing her campaign, she focused on rising consumer costs, especially for health care.

“I see the real cost when the health care system fails my patients…,” Knickerbocker said. “I see people lose their life savings because health care costs are too high. The system cares more about making money than keeping people healthy. We know this isn’t working. Prices keep going up. Insurance premiums are skyrocketing. Even electric bills are through the roof. The economy is broken.”

Turner, 66, is a lawyer who was Dayton mayor before serving 12 terms in Congress.

With traditional foreign policy views on matters such as supporting Ukraine and NATO, he had been chairman of the powerful House Intelligence Committee. But those views clashed with those of the incoming Trump administration, and Turner lost the chairmanship last year.

There was speculation that he might retire at the end of the year. But he announced his reelection bid last week, emphasizing his support for the massive Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

In doing so, he appeared to refer to massive, controversial cuts last year to the federal workforce made by a group that Trump picked the world’s richest man to lead.

“I think this is a time to make sure we do have a voice of strong, experienced leadership…” Turner said. “With everything that’s happening in Washington — especially with the vulnerabilities and threats that we have — to our federal workforce and at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, it’s really important to make certain with the growth potential, and the opportunities that we have in the federal budget…”

Trump campaigned in 2024 on promises that he would immediately fix inflation and ease Americans’ other economic concerns. But as the first year of his second term ends, many voters no longer appear to be buying it.

The economy, unemployment and jobs were the top issues, according to an Ipsos poll taken in December. Respondents said political extremism or threats to democracy were their second-most pressing concern.

Another Democrat last week announced his candidacy for the Cleveland-area 7th Congressional District. Brian Poindexter, an iron worker, union organizer, and former Brook Park City councilman, also emphasized affordability in his announcement.

“With the way things are going, I don’t think working people like you and me are going to be able to hold on much longer,” he said. “I mean, we’re working harder and harder, but we’re getting less and less.”

Poindexter joins former Cuyahoga County Executive and Lakewood Mayor Ed Fitzgerald, attorney Michael Eisner, and former Bay Village School Board President Scott Schultz in seeking the Democratic nomination.

The winner will face Republican Max Miller, a two-term incumbent.

The Center for Politics rates the district as safe Republican, but says it and the 10th are on the fringe of possible Democratic pickups if a blue wave materializes in November.

Former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Bill O’Neill is seeking the Democratic nomination to run in the 14th District against Republican incumbent Dave Joyce.

When the legislature last year redrew Ohio’s congressional districts, the 9th went from being a toss-up to leaning Republican, the Center for Politics said. That means that Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the longest-serving congresswoman in history, will perhaps have the toughest fight of her career on her hands.

Last week, Madison Sheahan, 28, filed as a Republican to run against her. Sheahan is stepping down as deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to make the run. In a campaign video, she made much of the ICE buildup and mass deportations last year under Trump.

It’s unclear whether that will help her politically in the wake of the fatal ICE shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this month.

A YouGuv poll last week found that majorities of Americans believe that ICE often uses unnecessary force, and view the agency unfavorably. Large majorities said the agency has fundamental problems it needs to fix, and that recruitment standards need to be raised.

Original story can be found at https://ohiocapitaljournal.com