There were no big surprises in the 16 races for Congress – especially since there were no contested primaries in six of them.
There were five Republican primaries, including the huge 15-candidate contest for former Speaker John Boehner’s seat. Warren Davidson beat state Rep. Tim Derickson and state Sen. Bill Beagle. Davidson goes on to a special election in that heavily Republican district June 7. Three Republican incumbents – Brad Wenstrup of Cincinnati, Bob Gibbs of Ashland and David Joyce of Painesville – had no trouble winning their primaries, as did the lone incumbent Democrat facing a challenger, Tim Ryan of Warren. And Republican former state Rep. Steven Kraus lost his bid to face Democratic incumbent Marcy Kaptur of Toledo this fall. Kraus was forced out of his seat in the Ohio House after a felony theft conviction in July.
