(Source: Kevin Coughlin for Congress on Facebook)

Kevin Coughlin, the current GOP frontrunner for Ohio’s 13th Congressional District race, is firmly anti-abortion despite running in a district that convincingly upheld reproductive freedom in November.

In audio released by American Bridge 21st Century, Coughlin can be heard bragging about his long anti-abortion record in the Ohio state legislature from 1997-2010.

“I’m pro-life. I had a strong pro-life record in the legislature for 14 years that I was there,” Coughlin said. “I either co-sponsored or voted for every allowable Roe v. Wade state restriction.”

Coughlin entered the race in October and has since collected endorsements from several prominent Ohio Republican entities like Rep. Jim Jordan (R), the Summit County Republican Party and Ohio Right to Life.

Coughlin is also a close ally of state Sen. Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson), who will be co-hosting a fundraiser for Coughlin on Tuesday night in Columbus. In 2022, Roegner’s campaign paid $3,500 to Lexington Companies, a political strategy firm Coughlin is the president of.

In 2019, Roegner sponsored Senate Bill 23, which put a stringent six-week abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest into Ohio law. The ban went into effect after the United States Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022,  after which Roegner doubled down on her opposition to rape and incest exceptions.

Roegner also heavily opposed Ohio’s Issue 1 ballot measure, which affirmed the right for citizens to make reproductive decisions including abortion. The measure passed by 56.78% on Nov. 7. Voters in Summit County, which encompasses much of the Congressional district that Coughlin is vying for, approved Issue 1 by 30.8 percentage points, or 58,617 votes.

Ohio’s 13th District race is expected to be competitive, and it is currently designated as a toss-up election. Ohio will hold its primary elections on March 19, where Coughlin will face political newcomer Chris Banweg and former candidate Richard Morckel. As of Dec. 31, Coughlin was outraising both of his primary opponents and had $78,091 more cash on hand than Banweg. If he advances, Coughlin will face incumbent Democrat Rep. Emilia Sykes in the November general election. Sykes won the seat in 2022 by 5.5 percentage points.