WASHINGTON, D.C. — Ahead of next year’s elections, both the Democratic and Republican parties are laying out their strategies to protect their incumbents and unseat lawmakers on the other side of the aisle.

In Ohio, the Republican party is targeting Reps. Emilia Sykes and Marcy Kaptur.

The party is hoping to capitalize on support for President Donald Trump, who won Kaptur’s northeast Ohio district and lost by just 175 votes in Sykes’ Akron-area district.

National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) spokesperson Zach Bannon wrote in a statement to Spectrum News,

“Out of touch Democrats Marcy Kaptur and Emilia Sykes continue to march in lockstep with the radical far Left, and Ohioans are paying the price. House Republicans are on offense and will hold them accountable; Kaptur and Sykes will lose their seats next year.”

Yet Republicans will likely face headwinds in 2026, as midterm elections have historically benefited the party out of power, in this case, Democrats.

The Democratic Party is targeting three Ohio Republicans: Reps. Max Miller, Mike Turner and Mike Carey.

The districts of all three include areas that voted for Kamala Harris last year.

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) Chair Suzan DelBene wrote in a statement,

“Max Miller, Mike Turner and Mike Carey are running scared, and they should be. From tanking the economy, gutting Medicaid, abandoning our veterans, to making everything more expensive, they’ve broken their promises to Ohioans, and it’s going to cost them their seats. The DCCC is already working to recruit authentic and battle-ready candidates in Ohio who reflect these districts and will work to better Ohioans’ lives, not line Elon Musk and their DC party bosses’ pockets.”

A lot could change, though, between now and Nov. 2026, as Ohio must redraw its congressional district map after the Ohio Supreme Court ruled the current map is unconstitutionally gerrymandered.

Yet Republican supermajorities in the state legislature could allow lawmakers to draw districts further benefitting Republicans, political analysts said.

“This is an opportunity for the highly gerrymandered Republican legislature, that has a supermajority, to essentially try to draw at least two, maybe three Democrats out of the five seats that they hold,” said University of Akron political science professor Dave Cohen. “The party that controls the pen and controls the drawing of the districts on the map will determine the fate of the elections that will occur in 2026.”