Ohio Governor to set dates for 6th Congressional district special election

Bill Johnson submitted his resignation from Congress on Tuesday, effective January 21st. Johnson will start his new job as President at YSU on January 22.

Filling his seat for the remainder of his term this year starts with Ohio Governor Mike DeWine issuing what's called a Writ of Election, basically announcing when a special primary and general election will be held.

The elections can be held on any date but the Secretary of State still has to set the filing deadlines which are typically 90 days before an election. Because of that, DeWine does not think there's enough time to have one coincide with the existing March primary.

"It would be very difficult maybe impossible to hold the election primary during our regularly scheduled primary this coming March," Governor Mike DeWine said. "Those things are already starting to move forward, so in the next few days, I will be setting two dates, the primary date and general election date."

Possible scenarios include a May or August primary and then a general election in November.

While the Mahoning Valley will be without congressional representation for several months, Johnson's congressional office will remain functional under the direction of the Clerk of the House until a new representative is sworn in. Benjamin Keeler tells 21 News that offices in Washington D.C. and Canfield/Mahoning Valley will remain open and staffed to handle any constituent concerns, they will still be able to do casework. 

Now, this is just for this year's unexpired term. There is also an election for this seat's full two year term starting in January of 2025. According to the Mahoning County Board of Elections, five people filed for the March 19th primary.

There are two democrats, Rylan Finzer of Bedford Heights and Michael Kripchak of Youngstown.

Three Republicans have filed, Dr. Rick Tsai of East Palestine, State Representative Reggie Stoltzfus from Stark County and State Senator Michael Rulli, who already has endorsements from the Republican chairmen in both Mahoning and Columbiana Counties.

In theory, we could end up with two general elections for this congressional seat in November, one to fill the unexpired term and then another for the full two years in 2025 and 2026. It may or may not be the same person.

The Secretary of State's office says the winner of the unexpired term would start immediately. Any special election costs will be covered by the state.