Joe Maiorana/AP/File
Ohio Sen. Michael Rulli meets with colleagues on Feb. 28, 2024, in Columbus.
CNN
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CNN projects that Republican Michael Rulli will win the special election for Ohio’s 6th Congressional District, expanding his party’s slim majority in the House of Representatives.
Rulli, a state senator representing Youngstown and an executive for his family’s grocery store chain, is expected to defeat Air Force veteran Michael Krypczak, a Democrat, in the race for the sprawling eastern Ohio district along the Ohio River.
Rulli replaces former Republican congressman Bill Johnson, who resigned in January after seven terms to become president of Youngstown State University.
As of Tuesday, Rulli held a commanding lead in a district that Donald Trump would have won by 28 points under current popular vote totals in 2020. Before winning the GOP nomination in March, Rulli garnered endorsements from former Ohio Republican Party chair Jane Timken, Ohio Rep. David Joyce, who represents a neighboring district, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Tuesday’s election was the first of two showdowns this year between Luli and Krypchak. The two are set to face off again in November, vying for a second two-year term starting in January.
Rulli’s addition to the party would help Republicans fill their slim majority in the House, which now has 219 Republican seats and 213 Democrats. Three seats are open, created by the resignations of Republican Reps. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin and Ken Buck of Colorado and the death of Democrat Rep. Donald Payne Jr. of New Jersey.
