The candidates and ballot details for this 2026 U.S. House race, with the original election records attached.
The Stated Record analysis: Toss-up
Updated September 3, 2026
Who is running?
Printed ballot candidates
Marcy KapturDemocratic
Derek MerrinRepublican
A write-in candidate is listed separately by the election authority.
Source: Erie County Board of Elections candidate filings
Checked September 2, 2026
Voter guide
The candidates, side by side
Background comes from government or official office records, and from the campaign's own biography where the bullet says so. Goals are summarized from each campaign's own platform page and stay attributed to the campaign. The record lines are official votes, sponsorships, and filings with the government source attached. Money is shown as filed, by the type the FEC records for the contributing committee, and is not evidence of why any position was taken. Money rows are itemized receipts from political committees; transfers from joint fundraising committees and the conduit entries for earmarked individual contributions sit on their own rows and are not additive with the rest; other memo entries, reimbursements, and receipts from organizations that are not political committees are excluded; each candidate's note gives the filing window and the reconciliation to the FEC summary.
The sitting member for Ohio's ninth district; Congress.gov records twenty-two terms for her, the first beginning in 1983. Congress.gov
Her congressional office says she serves as the first woman to be Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. U.S. House of Representatives
What they say they want to do
Bring jobs home and end tax breaks for companies that move them overseas, with tariffs protecting Ohio-based factories. Marcy Kaptur for Congress
Secure borders and legal immigration, which her campaign ties to votes for border security and to the 2024 Senate immigration plan. Marcy Kaptur for Congress
An all-of-the-above energy policy, weatherization that lowers home energy costs, and more affordable housing. Marcy Kaptur for Congress
No national abortion ban, and none without exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother. Marcy Kaptur for Congress
Support for small farmers and for policies that create economic opportunity in farming communities. Marcy Kaptur for Congress
What the official record shows
Introduced the Restoring Communities Left Behind Act as H.R. 816 of the 117th Congress; it was referred to the Committee on Financial Services and went no further. Congress.gov
Introduced the same Act again as H.R. 837 of the 118th Congress, with the same outcome. Congress.gov
Money from political committees in the 2025-26 cycle, through June 30, 2026 (FEC lines 11B, 11C and 12). The rows sum to 1,992,602.80 dollars. Donations from individuals, including through ActBlue or WinRed, are not counted here.
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.
Race outlook
How election analysts rate this race
Categories are ordered judgments, not win probabilities.
The Stated Record analysisToss-up
Based on 2 verified rating sources. 1 stale or missing rating was excluded.
DemocraticToss-upRepublican
Cook Political ReportToss Up
Cook Political Report assessed this Aug 25, 2026; checked Sep 3, 2026.
Inside ElectionsTilt Republican · stale
Inside Elections assessed this Dec 5, 2025; checked Sep 3, 2026. Stale ratings are shown for transparency but excluded from our synthesis.
Sabato's Crystal BallToss-up
Sabato's Crystal Ball assessed this Aug 26, 2026; checked Sep 3, 2026.
Our synthesis uses the median-style ordinal rule described in Methodology. It is our analysis, not another independent rating.
What to know
The race in context
The registered rematch report's intended-interface access and reuse status remain unresolved, so it does not support a public context sentence yet.
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Candidate records
The field, without the campaign gloss
Current public roles come from government sources. Campaign-finance IDs come from the FEC.
Instagram: not foundThe campaign site links X and Facebook and no Instagram account.
Profile links show what is public now, not a complete archive. Each link was confirmed through the campaign site unless a note says otherwise. Individual social posts enter the evidence record only with a post URL, date, context, and review note.
Issue comparison
What each campaign says
These are attributed platform positions, not promises The Stated Record has verified or endorsed.
Her campaign says unfair trade agreements and tax breaks for companies that move jobs overseas have hurt Northwest Ohio, and that she is working to bring jobs home, end those tax breaks, and use tariffs to protect Ohio-based factories.
His campaign says he would demand fiscal responsibility and bolster Northwest Ohio's economy, and describes him as having led efforts to cut Ohio's state income tax while in the legislature.
Her reviewed priorities page addresses ending tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas but states no position on property taxation or on state and local tax administration.
His campaign describes him as an advocate for lower taxes, a simpler tax code and transparency, and names his chairmanship of the Ohio House Ways and Means Committee.
Her campaign says she believes in secure borders and legal immigration, and that she has voted to expand border security, to hire more than ten thousand border agents, and for the 2024 Senate immigration plan negotiated by Senator James Lankford.
No immigration position was found on the campaign site reviewed for this comparison. That site is a single page carrying a biography, a donation form and a contact form, and its only internal link is a privacy policy.
Her campaign says she supports an all-of-the-above energy policy, weatherization programs that lower home energy costs, and increasing the supply of affordable housing, and that she introduced the Restoring Communities Left Behind Act.
No energy, infrastructure or housing position was found on the campaign site reviewed for this comparison. His Ohio House record includes bills on housing and property taxation, which appear in the evidence below.
Her campaign says a woman's health decisions belong between a woman and her doctor, that she opposes a national abortion ban, and that she opposes any ban without exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother.
No reproductive-rights position was found on the campaign site reviewed for this comparison. His Ohio House record includes a 2017 law on the subject, which appears in the evidence below.
The number of cards varies with what each candidate's official record supports, and every card carries the same required parts: what they say, what the official record shows, one label from the fixed list, and its limit. Each card is labeled narrowly, by rule. A single vote, sponsorship, or filing can match one claim without proving a candidate's whole record, and a card never says why someone did something.
Housing: the Restoring Communities Left Behind Act
Matches stated record claim
What they say
Her campaign says she introduced the Restoring Communities Left Behind Act to invest in urban and rural communities that have seen disinvestment.
“She has introduced the Restoring Communities Left Behind Act to invest in both urban and rural communities that have seen disinvestment over the years.”
Congress.gov records her as the sponsor of the Restoring Communities Left Behind Act twice: H.R. 816 of the 117th Congress, introduced February 4, 2021, and H.R. 837 of the 118th, introduced February 6, 2023. Both were referred to the House Committee on Financial Services and neither went further.
Limit: The claim is that she introduced it, and she did, twice. Neither bill left committee, so nothing here shows the investment it describes reaching anyone.
The House Appropriations Committee's own roster for the 119th Congress names Chuck Fleischmann as chairman of the Energy and Water Development subcommittee. Her own House office page says that today she serves as the first woman to be Ranking Member of that subcommittee, which is the minority counterpart to the chair and not the same post.
Limit: Chair and ranking member are different posts and both are published, including by her own office, which is why this is checkable at all. The check covers the current Congress: whether she chaired the subcommittee in an earlier one was not part of it. The card tests the word, not her standing on the committee or what the post lets her do.
The House Clerk records her voting Yea three times in the 119th Congress on measures of that kind: the HALT Fentanyl Act as H.R. 27 on February 6, 2025 (Roll Call 33), the same Act as S. 331 on June 12, 2025 (Roll Call 166), and the Stop Chinese Fentanyl Act of 2025 on September 2, 2025 (Roll Call 220). All three passed the House.
Limit: Three recorded votes in the current Congress, not a score of her whole record on drug policy, and the check does not cover earlier Congresses. What a scheduling or penalty bill does in practice is not something a roll call shows.
Her campaign says she has voted to improve and expand border security, to hire more than ten thousand border agents, and to allow a military presence at the border if needed.
“She has voted to improve and expand border security, to hire more than 10,000 border agents, and to enable military presence at the border if needed.”
Two border-security measures reached a recorded vote in the 119th Congress and she voted Yea on both, on March 10, 2025: the Subterranean Border Defense Act (Roll Call 63) and the Emerging Innovative Border Technologies Act (Roll Call 65). Both passed. No vote in this Congress was found on hiring ten thousand border agents or on a military presence at the border.
Limit: The claim bundles three things and the current Congress's record carries the first. The other two were not located in it, and this check covered the 119th Congress only — she has served since 1983, so a vote from an earlier Congress would not appear here and is not ruled out.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Campaign finance
FEC snapshot through Jun 30, 2026
Principal campaign committees only. Receipts and disbursements are the election-cycle-to-date figures, Column B on each filing's summary page; cash on hand and debt are period-end figures. All are carried by reports covering the same period. Money is not a score of candidate quality or voter support.
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.
Federal Election Commission. Read from OpenFEC on 2026-09-21: all 3,992 itemized non-individual rows the FEC reports for the cycle, of which 3,791 carry a contributing-committee identifier and are grouped in the table. A first pass stopped at 3,000 rows and would have understated the table by about 976,000 dollars; the collector now compares what it read against the FEC's own count and refuses a short read. No individual contributor row was read.
Federal Election Commission. Read from OpenFEC on 2026-09-21: all 140 itemized non-individual rows the FEC reports for the cycle, of which 124 carry a contributing-committee identifier and are grouped in the table. No individual contributor row was read.
Erie County, Ohio Board of Elections. Official printed-candidate filing list for the November 3, 2026 general election, reviewed September 2, 2026. Ohio's Secretary of State site refuses automated readers, so a county board's published filing list is used for the field.
Congress.gov. Used for her current office, district, party and the number of terms recorded. Congress.gov is the Library of Congress's official legislative record.
Derek Merrin for Congress. Campaign-controlled source and the whole of the campaign's site: it is one page whose only internal link is a privacy policy. Positions and record claims are attributed, not independently verified facts. The domain merrinforcongress.com is a registrar parking page and is not the campaign's site.
Federal Election Commission. Principal campaign committee only, covering April 16 to June 30, 2026, read from OpenFEC on September 20, 2026 as the most recent report not superseded by an amendment.
Federal Election Commission. Principal campaign committee only, covering April 16 to June 30, 2026, read from OpenFEC on September 20, 2026. He has two committees the FEC designates principal; the earlier one, MERRIN FOR CONGRESS, filed a termination report covering July 2025 and is not used here.
Ohio General Assembly. His optical-aids bill. Its last published version is As Passed by the House, with no signature and no effective date. Ohio renumbers bills each General Assembly, so the same number belongs to three other members' bills in the assemblies he served.
Ohio General Assembly. His second fuel-tax transparency bill; did not pass. Its long title names Revised Code section 5735.50, which is how the enacted provision was traced.
Ohio General Assembly. His eight-year licence bill; reported by committee and went no further. Its long title names the eight Revised Code sections used to trace the enacted provision.
Ohio General Assembly. Sponsored by Senator Williams; signed January 7, 2021, effective April 12, 2021. Its long title amends all eight sections named by his own bill.
Ohio Laws and Administrative Rules. The sales-tax exemption section. Its published history names House Bill 166 of the 133rd General Assembly, the state budget, effective July 18, 2019.
Ohio Laws and Administrative Rules. Requires fuel tax rate notices on retail pumps. Effective July 3, 2019; the Code names House Bill 62 of the 133rd General Assembly as its legislation.
Ohio Laws and Administrative Rules. Permanent registration for noncommercial trailers. Effective June 30, 2023; the Code names House Bill 23 of the 135th General Assembly as its legislation.
Ohio Laws and Administrative Rules. Driver's licence renewal periods. Its published history records an amendment by Senate Bill 68 of the 133rd General Assembly, effective April 12, 2021.
Ohio Laws and Administrative Rules. The section his Affordable Homebuilding and Housing Act would have created. It instead carries rules on extending tax-increment exemptions and does not mention subdivided land, platting or residential development.
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The details
Election facts. Original sources.
Election date
November 3, 2026
Launch rating
Cook Political Report: Toss Up; dated August 25, 2026
Ballot source updated
Current November 3 filing list reviewed September 2, 2026.
Candidate field
Printed candidates checked against official election records.