Former Ohio state representative for the 42nd House district; holds no current public office. Campaign affiliation: Republican.
ADVERTISEMENT
Voter guide
Background, stated goals, record, and money
Background comes from official records, and from the campaign's own biography where the bullet says so; goals are summarized from the campaign's own platform and stay attributed; the record lines are official actions with the government source attached; money is shown as filed, with the filing window and the reconciliation in the note under the table, and is not evidence of why any position was taken.
Derek Merrin
Background
A former Ohio state representative for the 42nd House district, who served eight years across four General Assemblies and holds no current public office. Derek Merrin for Congress
His campaign says he chaired the House Ways and Means Committee in the 134th General Assembly and the House Health Committee before it, and that he was elected leader of the Ohio House Republican Caucus. Derek Merrin for Congress
Fiscal responsibility in Washington and a stronger Northwest Ohio economy. Derek Merrin for Congress
Support for what his campaign calls the America First Agenda, and for constitutional rights. Derek Merrin for Congress
What the official record shows
H.B. 118, barring dismissal of a property tax complaint that fails to identify the owner, signed into law. Ohio General Assembly
H.B. 214, which the General Assembly titles "Prohibit abortion if unborn has or may have Down Syndrome" and his campaign calls the Down Syndrome Non-Discrimination Act, signed into law. Ohio General Assembly
H.B. 66, the Theft Victims' Restitution Act, signed into law and effective the same day. Ohio General Assembly
Money from political committees in the 2025-26 cycle, through June 30, 2026 (FEC lines 11B, 11C and 12). The rows sum to 508,831.85 dollars. His own summary reports $150 more on line 11C than the rows show. Counts only his 2026 committee; his earlier one closed in July 2025. Donations from individuals, including through ActBlue or WinRed, are not counted here.
Words and record
Where statements meet the record
Each card is labeled narrowly, by rule, and states its own limit.
Derek Merrin
Crime: restitution for theft victims
Matches stated record claim
What they say
His campaign says his Theft Victims' Restitution Act made it easier for theft victims to recover the accounting costs of working out what they lost.
“his Theft Victims’ Restitution Act (HB 66) made it easier for victims of theft to recover restitution for accounting costs incurred when determining their financial losses”
The Ohio General Assembly records him as the sponsor of H.B. 66 of the 133rd General Assembly, "Enact Theft Victims' Restitution Act". It was signed on October 1, 2020 and took effect the same day.
Limit: The record shows sponsorship and enactment. It does not measure how often the law has been used or what it has recovered for anyone.
Derek Merrin
Elections: wording of tax and bond levies on the ballot
Matches stated record claim
What they say
His campaign says his Ballot Uniformity and Transparency Act became law in 2022 and made it easier for voters to understand the fiscal impact of tax and bond levies.
“In 2022, Merrin’s Ballot Uniformity and Transparency Act (HB 140) became law making it easier for voters to understand the fiscal impact of tax and bond levies.”
He is recorded as the sponsor of H.B. 140 of the 134th General Assembly, "Enact Ballot Uniformity and Transparency Act", signed June 14, 2022 and effective September 13, 2022. He had carried the same subject once before, as H.B. 76 of the 133rd, which passed the House and went no further.
Limit: Whether the wording it requires actually helps a voter understand a levy is not something the legislative record can settle.
Derek Merrin
Property tax: local governments contesting property values
Matches stated record claim
What they say
His campaign says he reformed Ohio's Board of Revision law in 2022, limiting the power of local governments to challenge property values in order to raise property taxes.
“He also reformed Ohio’s Board of Revision law (HB 126), which limits the power of local governments to challenge property values to increase property taxes on property owners.”
He is recorded as the sponsor of H.B. 126 of the 134th General Assembly, "Regards process for local governments to contest property value", signed April 20, 2022 and effective July 21, 2022. He had carried the subject twice before without success: H.B. 343 of the 132nd and H.B. 75 of the 133rd, the latter passing the Senate but not completing.
Limit: The card tests sponsorship and enactment, not the law's effect on anyone's tax bill, and takes no position on whether the change was worth making.
Derek Merrin
Taxes: banks and mortgage lenders
Matches stated record claim
What they say
His campaign says he reduced mortgage lenders' tax burden in 2021, calling it the highest in the nation at the time.
“He also successfully reduced mortgage lenders’ tax burden (HB 150), believed to be the highest in the nation at the time.”
He is recorded as the sponsor of H.B. 150 of the 133rd General Assembly, "Reduce taxes on new banks and mortgage lenders", signed January 9, 2021 and effective April 12, 2021.
Limit: The bill's enactment is on the record. The description of Ohio's burden as the highest in the nation is the campaign's and is not evaluated here.
Derek Merrin
Health: access to epinephrine
Matches stated record claim
What they say
His campaign says he prevailed in his pursuit of the Epinephrine Accessibility Act.
“He prevailed in his pursuit of the Epinephrine Accessibility Act (HB 101)”
He is recorded as the sponsor of H.B. 214 of the 132nd General Assembly, signed December 22, 2017 and effective March 23, 2018. The General Assembly's own short title for it is "Prohibit abortion if unborn has or may have Down Syndrome". Both names describe the same law.
Limit: He sponsored it and it became law, which is what the claim says. The card prints the legislature's own title beside the campaign's name for it because the two describe the same law in different words, and a reader is entitled to both. It takes no position on the law.
Derek Merrin
Property tax: challenging a property valuation
Matches stated direction
What they say
His campaign says he simplified the process for homeowners to challenge their property value.
“He also simplified the process for homeowners to challenge their property value (HB 118).”
He is recorded as the sponsor of H.B. 118 of the 132nd General Assembly, signed November 6, 2017 and effective February 5, 2018. The General Assembly's short title is "Prohibit dismissing tax complaint if fails to identify owner": it bars dismissal of a complaint on one specific ground rather than revising the process as a whole.
Limit: The law is narrower than "simplified the process" suggests, and it is his. The card compares the wording to the bill's own title and does not judge how much difference the change made.
Derek Merrin
Taxes: sales tax on prescription eyewear
Matches stated direction
What they say
His campaign says he repealed the sales tax on prescription eyewear, saving taxpayers forty-five million dollars a year.
“Merrin successfully repealed the sales tax on prescription eyewear saving taxpayers $45 million annually (HB116)”
His own bill did not do it. H.B. 116 of the 132nd General Assembly, "Exempt optical aids from sales tax", passed the House, was referred to a Senate committee and stopped there, with no signature and no effective date. The exemption exists all the same: Revised Code section 5739.02 was amended by House Bill 166 of the 133rd General Assembly, the state budget, effective July 18, 2019.
Limit: He introduced and passed through one chamber a bill for this exemption, and the exemption became law. Whether the budget's provision came from his bill is not something the record settles, and the forty-five million dollar figure is the campaign's, not the state's.
Derek Merrin
Taxes: posting fuel tax rates at the pump
Matches stated record claim
What they say
His campaign says his Fuel Tax Transparency Act, requiring stickers on fuel pumps that display state and federal fuel taxes, became law in 2019 through the Transportation Budget.
“in 2019, Merrin’s Fuel Tax Transparency Act requiring stickers on fuel pumps displaying the state and federal fuel taxes became law through the Transportation Budget (HB 62)”
Revised Code section 5735.50 requires notices on retail service station pumps showing state and federal fuel tax rates. It took effect July 3, 2019, and the Code names House Bill 62 of the 133rd General Assembly, the transportation budget, as its legislation. He had carried the subject as his own bill twice without passage: H.B. 70 of the 132nd and H.B. 110 of the 133rd.
Limit: The claim names the vehicle and the Code agrees. What the Code cannot show is who wrote the budget's provision, so the record confirms the outcome and the route rather than the authorship.
Derek Merrin
Vehicles: permanent registration for noncommercial trailers
Matches stated record claim
What they say
His campaign says he established a permanent vehicle registration option for noncommercial trailers in 2023, saving time and cost for the owners of six hundred thousand trailers.
“In 2023, Merrin succeeded in establishing a permanent vehicle registration option for non-commercial trailers, which saves time and costs for the state owners of 600,000 trailers (HB23).”
Revised Code section 4503.107 lets the owner or lessee of a noncommercial trailer apply for permanent registration. It took effect June 30, 2023, and the Code names House Bill 23 of the 135th General Assembly as its legislation. His own bill on the subject, H.B. 96 of the 134th, passed the House and went no further.
Limit: The claim names the vehicle and the Code agrees. The count of six hundred thousand trailers is the campaign's figure and is not verified here, and the record does not show who drafted the budget's provision.
Derek Merrin
Driver licensing: an eight-year renewal option
Matches stated direction
What they say
His campaign says that in 2021 he changed the law to let Ohioans choose an eight-year driver's licence instead of a four-year one.
“In 2021, Merrin successfully changed the law providing Ohioans an option to choose an eight-year driver’s license rather than a four-year license, significantly reducing needed visits to the BMVs throughout Ohio.”
The option exists. Revised Code section 4507.09 was amended by Senate Bill 68 of the 133rd General Assembly, effective April 12, 2021; that bill was sponsored by Senator Williams and amends all eight Code sections his own bill named. His bill, H.B. 372 of the 133rd, was reported by committee and went no further.
Limit: The change he describes did happen, in the year he gives, and he had filed a bill for it. It was carried by another member's bill, and the record does not show whose drafting the enacted language was.
Derek Merrin
Housing: property tax on subdivided lots
No verdict
What they say
His campaign says that after a five-year push he passed the Affordable Homebuilding and Housing Act, blocking property tax increases on subdivided lots until the home is built or the lot sold.
“After a five-year push, Merrin pushed through the Affordable Homebuilding & Housing Act, which blocks property tax increases on subdivided lots until the home is built or lot is sold.”
He filed for it twice and neither bill passed. H.B. 371 of the 132nd General Assembly, "Exempt increased value of subdivided land until building starts", was reported by the Ways and Means Committee and went no further; H.B. 149 of the 133rd, "Enact Affordable Homebuilding and Housing Act", never left introduction. Revised Code section 5709.51, the section his bill would have created, instead carries rules on extending tax-increment exemptions and does not mention subdivided land.
The outcome cannot be located in the record at all, which is not the same as showing the claim to be wrong. Searching the complete bill lists of the 133rd, 134th, 135th and 136th General Assemblies for a short title naming homebuilding, subdivided land, platting, residential development or a housing act returns his own unpassed bill and nothing else. What no sponsorship or title search can rule out is a provision folded into a budget without a name of its own, which is how several of his other claims did reach law. So the record neither shows this happening nor shows that it did not.
Limit: Ohio's bill lists and the Revised Code settle who sponsored what and which act amended a section. Neither shows language added by amendment inside a larger bill, which is the one route this claim could have taken.
Derek Merrin
Record: how many legislative wins
Matches stated direction
What they say
His campaign says he captured about twenty legislative victories from sponsored bills and amendments.
“Derek captured about 20 legislative victories from sponsored bills and amendments that are making Ohioans lives better.”
Across the four General Assemblies he served, the legislature records him as the sponsor of forty House Bills, of which nine became law: three in the 132nd, four in the 133rd, two in the 134th and none in the 135th. Two of the nine, the technical tax corrections bill and the Insurance Code Correction Act, his campaign does not claim.
Limit: Nine enacted bills is what the sponsorship record can show, and the claim counts amendments as well as bills. Ohio publishes no list of the amendments a member carried, so the remainder of the figure can be neither confirmed nor contradicted here, and the nine is a floor rather than a total.
The Erie County Board of Elections filing list for the November 3 general election showed both printed candidates when The Stated Record checked it on September 2, 2026. A write-in candidate is listed separately by the election authority.