Government & Politics

Election 2020

2020 is looking to be a pivotal year in politics. But this year's elections are about much more than the race for the White House. And the coronavirus pandemic is proving to be a complicating factor. WKSU, our colleagues at public radio stations across Ohio and the region and at NPR will bring you coverage of all the races from the national to the local level.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan Wins Re-election in Ohio's 13th District

Ideastream Public Media - WCPN News

Published November 3, 2020 at 9:17 PM EST

Democratic incumbent U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, who represents the 13th Congressional District, has retained his seat against Republican challenger Christina Hagan, according to unofficial elections results from the AP.

Democrat Rep. Tim Ryan has been re-elected to Ohio’s 13th Congressional district for a fifth term, according to unofficial election results from the Associated Press.

Ryan defeated Republican challenger Christina Hagan, an Alliance resident who served in the Ohio House from 2011 to 2018 when she was term limited.

Chemist Michael Fricke from Kent ran on the Libertarian ticket.

As of 8:10 p.m. Tuesday, Ryan had won with 62.3 percent of the reported vote, according to AP. Hagan picked up 35.6 percent of votes so far and Fricke received slightly more than 2 percent.

Ryan has held the seat since 2013, but has served in Congress since 2003. He was previously the representative for Ohio’s 17th Congressional District, after defeating his former boss, Democrat Rep. Jim Traficant, until district lines were redrawn. In 2019, he also was briefly a candidate in the Democratic presidential primary, but dropped out of that race in October 2019 and focused his efforts on re-election to his U.S. House seat.

The district stretches through the Mahoning Valley, encompassing parts of Mahoning, Trumbull, Portage, Stark and Summit counties. The area is historically Democratic, but had a strong showing for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

During his campaign, Ryan touted his experience working with companies who are set to create thousands of new jobs in the Mahoning Valley, such as tech company LG Chem and Workhorse, following the closure of the General Motors Lordstown plant in 2019.

LG Chem plans to open a facility adjacent to the former GM plant in Lordstown to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles.

During the campaign, Ryan emphasized he wants not only build back the area’s economy, but transform it by securing funds for emerging industries like engineering and technology.

Ryan criticized Hagan for residing outside the 13th District. Hagan – who secured a coveted Trump endorsement in the race against Ryan – lives near the border of the district line, she said, and represented a large slice of the district when she served in the Ohio Statehouse.

In 2018, Hagan ran for Ohio’s 16th Congressional District seat in, losing in the Republican primary to current Rep. Anthony Gonzalez.