By Canadian Press

Republican state Sen. Michael Rulli wins US House seat in Ohio vacated by GOP’s Bill Johnson

Jun 11, 2024 | 7:08 PM

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Republican state Sen. Michael Rulli won a special election Tuesday in eastern Ohio for the U.S. House seat formerly held by the GOP’s Bill Johnson.

Rulli, 55, defeated Democrat Michael Kripchak to fill the remainder of Johnson’s unexpired term. The two face off again Nov. 5 for a full two-year congressional term that begins in January.

Rulli is a second-term state senator from Salem in Ohio’s Mahoning Valley, where he directs operations for his family’s 100-year-old chain of grocery stores. Kripchak, 42, of Youngstown, served in the U.S. Air Force, and has done stints as an actor and in interactive telecommunications. He currently works at a local restaurant.

Johnson resigned in January after 13 years in Congress to take a position as president of Youngstown State University. His seat has sat empty since then.

The election took place under congressional maps that the Ohio Supreme Court previously deemed unconstitutionally gerrymandered to favor the state’s ruling Republicans.

COMMUNITY CHAMPION

Dwight King receives Leadership Excellence Award for inspiring youth through sports

21h ago

BUSTED

RCMP seize 50 kg of cocaine during traffic stop near Maidstone

Nov 19, 2024

RPCN Artist

'Felt like a movie': Chris Chipak making waves in the art world

Nov 18, 2024

The sprawling 6th District, which runs through 11 counties along the Ohio River, leans nearly 59% Republican, according to Dave’s Redistricting App, a political mapmaking website.

Julie Carr Smyth, The Associated Press