Ohio's 9th congressional district


Ohio's 9th congressional district has been represented by Representative Marcy Kaptur since 1983.
This district is in the northern part of the state, bordering Michigan and Ontario, Canada, and includes portions of Cuyahoga, Erie, Lorain, Lucas, and Ottawa counties. Due to redistricting by the Republican-controlled state legislature following the 2010 state elections, the 9th district absorbed part of western Cuyahoga County pitting 10th district Democratic incumbent Dennis Kucinich against Kaptur in the 2012 Democratic primary.
The redesigned 9th district has been called "The Snake by the Lake" and one of the "Top 5 Ugliest Districts" due to gerrymandering. The two portions of the district are only connected via a bridge between Erie and Ottawa counties, as well as Crane Creek State Park. Some Ohio Democrats argued that when the beach floods, the reconfigured 9th is not contiguous.
It was one of several districts challenged in a 2018 lawsuit seeking to overturn Ohio's congressional map as unconstitutional gerrymandering. According to the lawsuit, the 9th "eats its way across the southern border of Lake Erie" while fragmenting Cleveland and Toledo.

List of largest municipalities

All or part of ten cities are in the district.
The largest municipalities represented in this district include:

List of members representing the district

Election results

The following chart shows historic election results. Bold type indicates victor. Italic type indicates incumbent.
YearDemocraticRepublicanOther
1920Isaac R. Sherwood: 38,292 William W. Chalmers : 49,732Karl E. Pauli: 47
1922 Isaac R. Sherwood: 45,059William W. Chalmers : 42,712
1924Isaac R. Sherwood : 48,482 William W. Chalmers: 54,792Millard Price : 2,159
John Kocinski: 747
1926C. W. Davis: 23,947 William W. Chalmers : 47,331George F. Parrish : 1,110
Millard Price : 1,018
1928William P. Clarke: 50,601 William W. Chalmers : 82,560Charles V. Stephenson : 190
1930Scott Stahl: 36,375 Wilbur M. White: 49,498
1932 Warren J. Duffey: 56,755Wilbur M. White : 54,078Silas E. Hurin: 4,200
Clyde E. Kiker: 2,135
Karl Pauli : 1,314
Eugene Stoll : 620
1934 Warren J. Duffey : 61,037Frank L. Mulholland: 35,732Kenneth Eggert : 684
Karl Pauli : 510
1936 John F. Hunter: 75,737Raymond E. Hildebrand: 55,043Earl O. Lehman: 3,739
1938 John F. Hunter : 56,306Homer A. Ramey: 55,441
1940 John F. Hunter : 86,956Wilbur M. White: 71,927
1942John F. Hunter : 44,027 Homer A. Ramey: 47,377
1944John F. Hunter: 77,693 Homer A. Ramey : 82,735
1946Michael DiSalle: 59,057 Homer A. Ramey : 59,394
1948 Thomas H. Burke: 85,409Homer A. Ramey : 73,394
1950Thomas H. Burke : 45,268Homer A. Ramey: 43,301 Frazier Reams : 51,024
1952Thomas H. Burke: 61,047Gilmore Flues: 46,989 Frazier Reams : 74,821
1954 Thomas L. Ashley: 48,471Irving C. Reynolds: 39,933Frazier Reams : 44,656
1956 Thomas L. Ashley :Harvey G. Straub: 81,562
1958 Thomas L. Ashley : 102,115William K. Gernheuser: 63,660
1960 Thomas L. Ashley : 108,688Howard C. Cook: 82,433
1962 Thomas L. Ashley : 86,443Martin A. Janis: 64,279
1964 Thomas L. Ashley : 109,167John O. Celusta: 64,401
1966 Thomas L. Ashley : 83,261Jane M. Kuebbeler: 53,777
1968 Thomas L. Ashley : 85,280Ben Marsh: 63,290
1970 Thomas L. Ashley : 82,777Allen H. Shapiro: 33,947
1972 Thomas L. Ashley : 110,450Joseph C. Richards: 49,388
1974 Thomas L. Ashley : 64,831Carty Finkbeiner: 57,892
1976 Thomas L. Ashley : 91,040Carty Finkbeiner: 73,919Edward S. Emery: 1,533
Lynn Galonsky: 1,477
1978 Thomas L. Ashley : 71,709John C. Hoyt: 34,326Edward S. Emery: 2,563
Michael James Lewinski: 4,530
1980Thomas L. Ashley : 68,728 Ed Weber: 96,927Edward S. Emery: 4,357
Toby Elizabeth Emmerich: 2,411
1982 Marcy Kaptur: 95,162Ed Weber : 64,459David Muir : 1,217
Susan A. Skinner: 1,785
James J. Somers: 1,594
1984 Marcy Kaptur : 117,985Frank Venner: 93,210Other: 3,714
1986 Marcy Kaptur : 105,646Mike Shufeldt: 30,643
1988 Marcy Kaptur : 157,557Al Hawkins: 36,183
1990 Marcy Kaptur : 117,681Jerry D. Lammers: 33,791
1992 Marcy Kaptur : 178,879Ken D. Brown: 53,011Edward Howard: 11,162
1994 Marcy Kaptur : 118,120R. Randy Whitman: 38,665
1996 Marcy Kaptur : 170,617R. Randy Whitman: 46,040Elizabeth A. Slotnick : 4,677
1998 Marcy Kaptur : 130,793Edward S. Emery: 30,312
2000 Marcy Kaptur : 168,547Dwight E. Bryan: 49,446Galen Fries : 4,239
Dennis Slotnick : 3,096
2002 Marcy Kaptur : 132,236Edward S. Emery: 46,481
2004 Marcy Kaptur : 199,528Larry A. Kaczala: 93,930
2006 Marcy Kaptur : 153,880Brad Leavitt: 55,119
2008 Marcy Kaptur : 210,822Brad Leavitt: 73,610
2010 Marcy Kaptur : 121,819Rich Iott: 83,423
2012 Marcy Kaptur : 217,775Joe Wurzelbacher: 68,666Sean Stipe : 11,725
2014 Marcy Kaptur : 106,338Richard May: 50,792Cory Hoffman, George A. Skalsky : 0

Accusations of gerrymandering

The current district lines were drawn in 2011, following the redistricting based on the 2000 census. The boundaries of the 9th district have been cited as a signature example of the partisan gerrymandering of the Ohio redistricting. A lawsuit challenging the redistricting referred to the shape of District 9 as "the snake on the lake," and it has been referred to as one of the United States' "Top 5 Ugliest Districts" due to gerrymandering.

Historical district boundaries