U.S. House race · November 3, 2026
U.S. Representative, Ohio District 9
Represents Ohio's 9th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives, which writes and votes on federal laws, budgets and oversight of the executive branch.
2-year term. Under the 2026 map, the district spans northwest Ohio from the Indiana border to Lake Erie, including Toledo and all of Lucas, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Henry, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam and Williams counties plus part of Wood County. Incumbent Marcy Kaptur (D) is seeking re-election; Derek Merrin (R) was also her 2024 opponent under the previous lines.
The candidates
Listed alphabetically by last name.
Matthew Althaus
Manufacturing managerMatthew Althaus is the Libertarian nominee, a manufacturing manager who won the May 2026 Libertarian primary. He describes himself as a blue-collar northwest Ohioan. His platform emphasizes lower taxes, spending cuts, privacy rights, congressional term limits and avoiding unnecessary foreign wars.
Marcy Kaptur
U.S. Representative, Ohio District 9Marcy Kaptur is a Democrat from Toledo who was first elected to the House in 1982 and is the longest-serving woman in the history of Congress. She is the ranking member of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development and a former urban planner and Carter administration domestic policy adviser. Her campaign emphasizes manufacturing jobs, lowering costs, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and the Great Lakes.
Derek Merrin
Former Ohio state representativeDerek Merrin is a Republican former state representative from Lucas County and former mayor of Waterville who narrowly lost to Marcy Kaptur in 2024. He won a five-candidate Republican primary in May 2026. His campaign emphasizes lower taxes and costs, fiscal restraint, border security, domestic energy and congressional term limits.
Compare on the issues
Summaries of each candidate's stated positions. See each profile for sources and details.
| Issue | Matthew Althaus Libertarian | Marcy Kaptur Democratic | Derek Merrin Republican |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economy & Jobs | Supports ending corporate subsidies he says favor large companies over local businesses. | Supports tariffs intended to protect Ohio manufacturers and ending tax advantages for companies that move jobs overseas; has said she would strip the president of tariff authorities and opposes the administration's tariff approach. | Supports balancing the federal budget, reducing spending that adds to the debt, reducing regulations and protecting the value of the dollar. |
| Energy & Environment | Supports an all-of-the-above energy mix through free markets and opposes federal mandates he says raise energy prices. | Supports an "all of the above" energy policy including solar, wind, geothermal and biofuels, and funding for the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. | Says the U.S. needs to unleash American energy to lower gas prices; has called for an end to the U.S. conflict in Iran, citing gas prices. |
| Taxes | Supports lower, simpler taxes for working families and small businesses and federal spending cuts. | Opposed the 2025 reconciliation law (H.R. 1); supports eliminating tax cuts for corporations and top earners. | Supports lower taxes and a simpler tax code; supports the 2025 law's tax provisions on tips, overtime and Social Security income; cites his Statehouse work on income tax rates, the prescription-eyewear sales tax and property tax rules. |
| Abortion | No public position found yet | Says health decisions should be between a woman and her doctor; opposes a national abortion ban, particularly one without exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother. | As a state legislator, supported Ohio's 2019 six-week "heartbeat" abortion law and co-sponsored a 2019 bill (HB 413) to create new abortion-related criminal offenses that did not advance; his campaign website does not name federal abortion legislation he would back. |
| Immigration | No public position found yet | Supports "secure borders and legal immigration"; has voted for more Border Patrol agents and monitoring technology and backed the 2024 bipartisan Senate border plan. | Pledges to secure the southern border, aligned with President Trump's America First policies. |
| Elections & Democracy | Supports banning stock trading by members of Congress, congressional term limits, and protecting ballot access and voter choice. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Foreign Policy | Supports ending unnecessary foreign wars and greater accountability for defense spending. | No public position found yet | No public position found yet |
| Health Care | No public position found yet | No public position found yet | Emphasizes price transparency, lower costs and fewer regulations that limit access to care. |
| Social Security & Medicare | No public position found yet | Opposes cuts to or privatization of Social Security and Medicare. | No public position found yet |