GOP narrowly wins Ohio congressional special election in district Trump carried by 29 points in 2020

Republican Michael Rulli narrowly came out on top in Ohio’s special election on Tuesday, despite the election being held in a district that former President Donald Trump last carried by 29 percentage points.

Ohio 6^th Congressional District special election unofficial results:

Michael Rulli (R): 32,627 votes (54.7%)

Michael Kripchak (D): 27,062 (45.3%)

The election was held to fill a vacancy in Ohio’s 6th Congressional District, which was created in January when Rep. Bill Johnson resigned to become president at Youngstown State University.

According to Daily Kos elections writer Stephen Wolf, Ohio’s 6th Congressional District is predominately made up of white voters who do not have college degrees, making the Democratic shift an unexpected outcome.

Ohio’s 6th Congressional District is nearly 90% white. Just 20% have a college degree, less than in 95% of districts nationwide.

A big Democratic overperformance would be unexpected given the demographics.

Demographic data for every district here: https://t.co/W2fkZwf8Ly #OH06 https://t.co/LnKyALLwm7

— Stephen Wolf @stephenwolf.bsky.social (@PoliticsWolf) June 12, 2024

In addition to serving as an executive for the Rulli Bros. Markets grocery chain, Rulli has served in the Ohio Senate since 2019.

EDITOR’S NOTE (6/13): A previous version of this article stated that Trump won the 6th Congressional District by 41 percentage points. It was actually 29 points.