madison sheahan finished third in Ohio's Republican congressional primary Tuesday night, taking 20.2% as former state Rep. Derek Merrin won the race for the 9th Congressional District. State Rep. Josh Williams placed second with 24.3%, leaving Sheahan outside the top two in a district Republicans view as one of their best pickup chances.
Ohio 9th District
Merrin led the field with 44.1% of the vote. Sheahan, 29, entered the contest after leaving her post as deputy director of ICE in January, a job Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem gave her. The race centered on whether Republicans could settle on a nominee strong enough to challenge Rep. Marcy Kaptur in northwest Ohio.
Kaptur has represented the Toledo-area seat since 1983. She won reelection in 2024 by 0.64%, or 2,382 votes, even as Trump carried the district by 7 points that year. That combination kept the district on the NRCC’s target list and made the primary result matter beyond the statehouse race itself.
Derek Merrin Takes Lead
On Wednesday morning, NRCC spokesman Zach Bannon said, “40-year career politician Marcy Kaptur has failed Ohioans for decades and Northwest Ohioans are ready for change,” and, “While Kaptur has pushed a radical far-left agenda of higher taxes, open borders, and sex change surgeries for kids, Derek Merrin is set to flip the seat red in order to deliver commonsense leadership and real results.” His comments signaled that Republicans are moving quickly to unify around Merrin after Sheahan’s third-place finish narrowed the field to one clear nominee.
The House enters the next phase with a 218-212 split, five vacancies and one independent who caucuses with Republicans. For Sheahan, the result ends a bid built on her immigration experience and leaves Merrin as the party’s nominee in a district Republicans are trying to flip.
