Democrat Michael Kripchak, a U.S. Air Force veteran, and Republican State Sen. Michael Rulli will face off twice this year to fill Ohio's 6th Congressional district seat, according to unofficial election results reported by The Associated Press.
Kripchak won the Democratic primary against small business owner Rylan Finzer, and Rulli won the Republican primary against opponents State Rep. Reggie Stoltzfus and East Palestine chiropractor Rick Tsai.
The winners are running to fill former Republican Rep. Bill Johnson's seat, who stepped down in January to become president of Youngstown State University.
This is the first time since 2006 that the district has been without an incumbent. Due to Johnson's resignation mid-term, candidates have two more elections ahead of them this year. On June 11, voters will decide who will finish out the remainder of Johnson's term in a special election. On Nov. 5, voters will decide who will fill the next full two-year term in the nationwide general election.
Sixth district voters voted twice in this cycle selecting candidates for both the June 11 and Nov. 5 elections. In both cases, nearly identical shares backed Kripchak and Rulli; Kripchak won about 66% of the vote and Rulli nearly 50%, according to The AP.
The 6th district covers all of Carroll, Columbiana and Mahoning counties as well as parts of Stark and Tuscarawas counties. About 19% of voters in the district are registered Republicans, and 13% are registered Democrats.
Johnson handily won his last term in office with 67.7% of the vote. The district, whose boundaries have twice been redrawn during Johnson's time in office as a result of redistricting, has historically flipped between Republican and Democratic candidates.
Former Democratic Rep. Charlie Wilson held the seat for two terms before losing to Johnson. Prior to Wilson, former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland represented the district for 10 years.
After the Air Force, Kripchak worked in the entertainment industry as an actor, writer and producer, according to his campaign website. He has a master's degree in interactive telecommunications and founded a start-up focused on electronic signal tracking, before moving home to Youngstown to assist his parents during the pandemic.
Rulli is serving his second term in the Ohio Senate representing Columbiana and Mahoning counties, according to the Ohio Senate. He also serves as director of operations for Rulli Bros. Markets, his family's business for 100 years. He's chair of the General Government Committee and vice chair of the Workforce and Higher Education Committee.
As of Feb. 28, Stoltzfus had outraised Rulli and Tsai, with $487,707 raised during the primary campaign compared to $442,735 by Rulli and $25,171 by Tsai, according to Federal Election Commission campaign finance data. On the Democratic side, Finzer reported raising $5,153 and Kripchak $0.
