Trump-backed Derek Merrin concedes to Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur in Ohio

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur’s Trump-endorsed rival said he called the veteran Ohio congresswoman to concede defeat in the 2024 election.

In a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, fourth-term state Rep. Derek Merrin did not rule out running for Kaptur’s seat again in two years, but he said his immediate plans were to rest and recharge with his family.

The race for Ohio’s 9th Congressional District was not settled until this Wednesday, when official results landed Kaptur ahead of Merrin by about 2,300 votes, or 0.7% of the vote. That narrowly averted the automatic recount that would have been triggered at 0.5%. Libertarian Tom Pruss, whose campaign was boosted by more than $400,000 from the pro-Democrat Voter Protection Project, won more than 4% of the vote.

Merrin pointed to the contest’s huge price tag as evidence Republicans were competitive against the longest-serving woman in Congress.

“Guys, they spent over $10 million against us. Democrats propped up a third party candidate to siphon votes from us, they hit us hard for almost 100 days in the media, and, that’s life, man, that’s politics,” he said. “We were fortunate enough to have the money to get our message out, and outside groups were able to talk about Marcy’s record, and it was mainly a fair fight that way — and Marcy Kaptur got more votes than we did, and I accept that.”

Merrin pledged to help the other GOP candidates who were successful in the state, as he faces a term limit in the Legislature at year’s end. That includes President-elect Donald Trump, who won Ohio for the third time Nov. 5, and Bernie Moreno, who unseated veteran Democratic U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown.

“We stood up for our Constitution, we fought for lower taxes, fiscal responsibility, set a vision out for more prosperity in northwest Ohio and we weren’t able to win,” Merrin said, “but our message and team across America won.”