Ohio Republican concedes to Kaptur, leaves door open for another run

Ohio Republican Derek Merrin has conceded in his House race against incumbent Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio).

Merrin, a member of the Ohio state House, revealed Friday morning in a video on social platform X that he called Kaptur to congratulate her on keeping her seat and “wish her the best moving forward.” 

"We knew this was going to be a dogfight from the from the very beginning, and we knew we were in an uphill battle against one of the strongest, most entrenched incumbents in American politics in history,” he said in the video.  

He also accused Democrats of propping up a third-party candidate in the race to “siphon” votes from his campaign.  

“That’s life man, that’s politics,” he added.  

Merrin received support from President-elect Trump in his campaign for Congress and praised the incoming president for his victory and the GOP majority in both chambers, saying the overall battle was “won.”  

Decision Desk HQ projected that Kaptur, who is the longest-serving woman in the House, would win the race on Nov. 7. Its updated election results show her with a margin of about 2,500 votes over Merrin.

“Marcy Kaptur got more votes than we did, and I accept that the voters had an opportunity to choose,” Merrin said.  

Merrin concluded the video by hinting at future plans, indicating that he may run for Congress again, but saying that for now he was going to “recharge” and focus on his role in the state Legislature.  

“I'm never going to stop fighting for a better Northwest Ohio and for us to be able to reach our full potential and to protect the American values that we all love,” he said.