Two area incumbents will face off in a battle to represent the newly formed 16th Congressional District.
U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton, who lost her district in the Republican-controlled redistricting, will challenge U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci, a freshman congressman representing a very different 16th District.
“Clearly, I was targeted in redistricting and divided into five pieces,” Sutton, D-Copley Township, said Wednesday. “My job here remains the same. I look forward to standing up for middle-class families at a time when many struggle throughout Ohio. It’s important that I stay in the fight on their behalf.”
Renacci, R-Wadsworth, who beat U.S. Rep. John Boccieri two years ago, said in a statement released by his spokesman that, regardless of who runs against him, he “will work tirelessly to improve the economy and bring jobs back to Northeast Ohio.”
Renacci filed his petitions to run on Monday, while Sutton submitted hers Wednesday, which was the filing deadline for the March 6 primary.
The new districts, redrawn every 10 years after the census, already have led to confusion for candidates and probably soon for voters, too. Besides boundaries changing, the umbers assigned to many districts have changed, so that voters could be represented by the same person but in a different district.
In addition, because Democrats and Republicans are locked in a battle over the redrawing of congressional lines — with Democrats seeking a referendum on the new boundaries — Ohio is scheduled to hold two primaries. March 6 would include state legislative and county races; the second, June 5, would decide presidential and congressional contests.
The new lines carve Summit County into four pieces, rather than the current three, and mean the county could be without a congressional representative who lives within its borders. Sutton is the only Summit resident to file for any of the races in the four new districts: the 16th, 14th, 13th and 11th.
Most of Stark County and about half of Medina County will be in the new 7th District, where U.S. Rep. Bob Gibbs, R-Lakeville, and Democrats Dawn Howard and Joseph Liolios filed.
The candidates who filed to run in the other area districts are:
• 11th: U.S. Rep. Marcia Fudge, D-Cleveland; and Nina L. Turner, Democrat.
• 13th: U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Niles; Marisha Agana, Republican; John Stephen Luchansky, Democrat; and Lisa Regula Meyer, Democrat.
• 14th: U.S. Rep. Steve LaTourette, R-Bainbridge Township; Dale Blanchard, Democrat; David Macko, Libertarian; and Elaine Mastromatteo, Green.
Prominent Summit County leaders met numerous times behind closed doors to decide whether they should support Fudge for the new, strangely shaped 11th District, which runs from Cuyahoga County down to Akron, with state Rep. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, reportedly considering running. He opted instead to seek re-election to the State House. Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic and Summit County Executive Russ Pry were among area officials who endorsed Fudge on Monday when she filed to run.
New 16th District
Renacci and Sutton will compete in a district that has changed dramatically from what he now represents. The redrawn 16th includes all of Wayne County and parts of Summit, Stark, Portage, Medina and Cuyahoga counties. The district currently covers Stark and Wayne counties and parts of Ashland and Medina counties.
Sutton, who easily defeated car-dealership owner Tom Ganley, her GOP challenger two years ago, said the new 16th includes her home and she “shares the interests of the people” in the district.
“I look forward to learning about their concerns and challenges,” she said. “They are challenges I’ve been fighting to overcome for my whole career.”
Renacci, a former Wadsworth mayor and a prominent business owner, is pointing to his business background, just as he did when he ran in 2010.
“At a time when career politicians and Washington insiders have ground our political system to a halt, I have been using my experience in business to advance bipartisan solutions to the significant challenges we face,” he said in his statement. “Serving the people of the 16th District is an honor and it will remain my sole focus.”
In the U.S. Senate race, a local resident is among eight candidates who filed. Michael L. Pryce of Hudson is one of six Republican candidates challenging Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Avon. Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel also is among the GOP candidates.
Stephanie Warsmith can be reached at 330-996-3705 or swarsmith@thebeaconjournal.com.