Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) lost his bid for reelection to the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 9.
Chabot, who has represented Ohio’s 1st Congressional District since 1994, lost to Democrat Greg Landsman, a former public school teacher and non-profit leader
The differences between Chabot and Landsman are vast.
Seeking a 14th term, Chabot was one of 13 House Republicans tasked to serve in the impeachment proceedings against former President Bill Clinton. He lost his seat to state Rep. Steve Driehaus in 2008 but won it back in 2010 after he beat Driehaus in a rematch.
Chabot is an outspoken Trump supporter who has criticized the FBI raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home and opposed Trump’s impeachment.
Landsman is a former public school teacher and is currently in his 5th year as a Cincinnati city councilman. He was unopposed in the Democratic primary.
Redistricting made the 1st Congressional District friendlier to Democrats. The new district includes Cincinnati and parts of its western suburbs.
“I thought we could overcome that, and we almost did,” Chabot said after conceding the race.
Under the district’s former boundaries, Trump had a 3 percentage point margin of victory over President Joe Biden in 2020. A redrawn map after the 2020 Census moved the entire city of Cincinnati into the district, giving Democrats an advantage.
The Ohio Supreme Court rejected the new congressional map for violating the anti-gerrymandering rules in the state Constitution. The map is still being used in the current election since candidates were selected in the primaries with the new version.
Chabot’s was one of 14 U.S. House seats nationwide held by Republicans but that President Joe Biden would have won under new congressional maps. Democrats were looking to take at least a handful of those Republican-held seats that voted for Biden to negate losses elsewhere around the country.
Trump’s influence was front and center in a handful of Ohio’s congressional elections.
Former Trump administration official Max Miller won a U.S. House seat in Ohio, a victory bolstered by the ex-president’s endorsement and the exits of two Republican congressmen.
Miller, who defeated Democrat Matthew Diemer, was a clear favorite after his victory in the GOP primary, a win that was set up after U.S. Reps. Bob Gibbs and Anthony Gonzalez abruptly retired.
GOP Rep. Jim Jordan, a fiery conservative who’s one of Trump’s closest allies in Congress, won a ninth term.
Other incumbents reelected were Republicans Mike Carey, Warren Davidson, Mike Turner, Brad Wenstrup, Bob Latta, Bill Johnson, Troy Balderson and David Joyce. Democrats Joyce Beatty and Shontel Brown also won.
Republicans previously held a 12-4 majority of Ohio’s congressional seats, but after Ohio lost one seat in Congress this year that margin will be cut to 10-5 for the GOP.
