Republican Michael Rulli Wins Special Election for Ohio's 6th Congressional District
The special election was called following the resignation of U.S. Representative Bill Johnson (R).
The special election occurred today in Ohio to fill a vacancy in the U.S. House of Representatives. This was the fourth special election in 2024 for the lower legislative chamber in the U.S. Congress. The Democratic and Republican candidates were selected through primaries in March.
The special election for Ohio’s 6th Congressional District was called following the resignation of U.S. Representative Bill Johnson, a Republican, to become President of Youngstown State University. He represented this district from January 2011 to January 2024.
Republican Michael Rulli has been declared the winner of the special election. The race was called in his favor as he’s currently leading with 54.7% against Democrat Michael Kripchak with 45.3%. 59,689 votes have been counted.
Rulli has represented District 33 in the Ohio State Senate since January 2019. Meanwhile, Kripchak is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
Today’s runoff covers the remaining months of Johnson’s current unexpired term to the U.S. House - which concludes in early January 2025. Furthermore, Rulli and Kripchak will face off again in the November general election for the regular two-year term for this seat.
The results represent yet another massive over-performance by Democrats in special elections this cycle. Kripchak held Rulli to a single-digit victory in a district that supported Donald Trump by a 63.7-35.0 margin during the 2020 presidential election.
Ohio’s 6th Congressional District is based in Mahoning County - home to Youngstown. It also stretches along the Ohio River to take in Columbiana, Carroll, Jefferson, Harrison, Belmont, Monroe, Noble and Washington Counties as well as parts of Stark and Tuscarawas Counties.
Once Rulli is sworn in, the U.S. House of Representatives will feature 219 Republicans and 213 Democrats. The chamber has three additional vacancies, which will be filled by special elections later this year. Moreover, all 435 seats will be up for regular two-year terms in November 2024.