Republicans expand House majority with victory in Ohio special election

Republican Michael Rulli won the special election for Ohio’s 6th Congressional District, helping his party expand its narrow House majority.

Rulli, a Youngstown-area state senator and an executive for his family’s grocery store chain, defeated Democratic Air Force veteran Michael Kripchak in the race for the sprawling district along the Ohio River in eastern Ohio.

Rulli will succeed former Rep. Bill Johnson, a seven-term Republican who resigned in January to become the president of Youngstown State University.

Rulli was the heavy favorite going into Tuesday in a district that Donald Trump would have carried by 28 points under its current lines in 2020. On his way to winning the GOP nomination in March, Rulli earned endorsements from former Ohio GOP Chairwoman Jane Timken, Ohio Rep. David Joyce, who represents a neighboring district, and the US Chamber of Commerce.