110320...R ELEX 1...Niles...11-03-20...U.S. Rep Tim Ryan, D-Howland, is thrilled when he received a call telling him he was the winner...by R. Michael Semple

The incumbent members of Congress who represent the Mahoning Valley appeared to be heading for re-election.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Howland, was ahead of Republican Christina Hagan of Marlboro Township 58.3 percent to 39.5 percent in the 13th District with all early votes and some precincts reporting. Libertarian Michael Fricke of Kent had 2.2 percent of the vote.

Unlike previous elections, an extraordinarily high early-vote turnout took place this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were able to get the message out,” Ryan said Tuesday in declaring victory for his 10th two-year term. “The criticism I got from my friend is I didn’t tell people what I do. I get up and go to work. This campaign was an opportunity to talk about what I’ve done.”

Hagan not living in the congressional district “killed her,” Ryan said. “It wasn’t just that. She didn’t live in the district she ran in two years ago. She was kind of job shopping, and she wasn’t raising money from inside the district.”

Ryan also said Hagan is not “a moderate Republican. She’s pretty extreme.”

Hagan, who couldn’t be reached for comment by press time, had previously criticized Ryan as changing his views on the 2nd Amendment and abortion during his time in Congress and not representing the views of the district.

Also, U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, was well ahead of his Democratic challenger, Shawna Roberts of Belmont, in the 18-county 6th District, 71 percent to 29 percent with all early votes and some precincts reporting.

The race in the 14th District with early voting and some precincts reporting was close with U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Bainbridge Township, leading his Democratic challenger, Hillary O’Connor Mueri of Painesville, 54 percent to 46 percent. But as more results came in, Joyce’s lead continued to increase.

In addition to the rest of the districts needing to report, ballots postmarked by this past Monday that arrive at county boards of elections by Nov. 13 and provisional ballots still need to be counted. The election results must be certified by Nov. 18.

As expected, Hagan, a former Ohio House member, gave Ryan his toughest challenge.

Ryan’s unofficial 21.9 percent lead over Hagan shows a continued slip for the incumbent though he was still well ahead even though that percentage is likely to drop when the final results are in.

Ryan won by 45.6 percent in 2012, 37 percent in 2014, 35.5 percent in 2016 and 22 percent in 2018.

The five-county 13th District includes most of Mahoning and Trumbull counties.

6TH AND 14TH DISTRICTS

In a rematch in the 6th District between Johnson and Roberts, the results were the same — the incumbent with a landslide victory.

“Traveling across this vast district over the past several months, I’ve heard from the hardworking men and women about the issues important to them,” said Johnson, who will start serving his sixth two-year term in Congress in January. “That’s why, when I return to Washington, D.C., I’ll continue to fight for American energy independence, rural broadband expansion and economic recovery due to COVID-19. For me, the work has just begun.”

Johnson beat Roberts 69.3 percent to 30.7 percent in 2018 — and that was with the latter campaigning.

Roberts failed to file campaign finance reports with the Federal Election Commission this year and acknowledged on Twitter a couple of weeks ago: “I have not been an active candidate this year, and I owe you all an apology and an explanation. I apologize. You deserved a more active candidate. Everyone with any political experience knows that I had no chance of winning in this district this year. No one with a ‘D’ by their name did, at least not this year. But that wasn’t the point of running. The point of running was to talk about the things that matter in this district and to let folks know that they had a choice. Going into this year, I was prepared to run a low-key but active campaign.”

Roberts wrote that her husband lost his job, and they didn’t have running water at their home.

The district includes all of Columbiana County and the southern part of Mahoning County.

Joyce was on his way to his fifth two-year term representing the 14th District, leading Mueri, who was running for elected office for the first time.

The seven-county district includes communities in northern Trumbull County.

Joyce was ahead by 8 percent as of press time with his lead growing.

In 2018, Joyce won by 10.4 percent and by 25.2 percent in 2016.

dskolnick@tribtoday.com