Former Ohio state lawmaker and current business owner Kevin Coughlin launched his campaign for Ohio’s 13th congressional district on Monday. Coughlin, a Republican, is a fourth-generation resident of Summit County.
Ohio’s 13th congressional district is currently represented by Democrat U.S. Representative Emilia Sykes (D-OH-13). Sykes was elected to the seat in 2022 after serving eight years as a state representative for Ohio House District 34.
I’m in – and I’m here to WIN. The fight for workers and families across #OH13 is too important to sit out. As a husband, father, small-business owner and fourth-generation resident of Summit County, I know how important it is to have a REAL voice to fight for our values in… pic.twitter.com/Old3n6pLZq
— Kevin Coughlin 🇺🇸 (@KevinCoughlin) November 13, 2023
Coughlin was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives in 1996 where he flipped the seat from Democrat to Republican. He was elected to three terms and served until 2001 before becoming a member of the Ohio Senate in 2001 where he was elected twice.
Upon launching his bid for Ohio’s 13th congressional district this week, Coughlin announced that every county GOP chair in the district – Bryan Williams in Summit County, Janet Weir Creighton in Stark County, and Amanda Suffecool in Portage County – is serving as a co-chair of his campaign.
“We are honored to stand with Kevin Coughlin. Not only is Kevin the most trusted, tested conservative in this race, but he has a deep network of support from years of community involvement and service to this district. He has proven time and time again that he will put the interests of Ohio taxpayers ahead of establishment bosses and special interests. He is the best positioned to turn the 13th district red and restore common sense leadership on behalf of Ohio workers and their families,” the co-chairs said in a joint statement.
Coughlin said he was “honored” and “humbled” to receive the support of Williams, Creighton, and Suffecool, adding, “We have a long fight ahead of us, but bringing common sense conservative leadership to Washington is worth the fight.”
“This campaign will have the infrastructure and momentum necessary to win the general election, and that starts with unprecedented support like this,” Coughlin added.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Ohio Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
