Election is already heating up; here's what we know about March primaries in Summit County

Derek Kreider, Akron Beacon Journal
Updated ·6 min read
Today is primary voting day in Ohio. We're watching who Ohio Republicans will choose to square off against incumbent U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown in November and various Summit County school levies, candidate races and other issues.

The die is cast for the March 19 primaries.

Thursday at 4 p.m. marked the filing deadline for aspiring office holders to announce their candidacy.

Here's what we know about the candidates for several key races in Summit County:

13th U.S. House District

Republicans Christopher Banweg, Kevin Coughlin and Richard Morckel will face off for the party nomination to compete against Democratic incumbent Emilia Sykes.

Sykes, who had served as minority leader in the Ohio House, defeated Republican Madison Gesiotto Gilbert in 2022 in a newly redrawn 13th District that put all of Summit County in the same voting bloc.

Banweg is an at-Large Hudson City Councilman, a business executive and thrice deployed member of the Marine Corps reserves.

Coughlin is a former member of the Ohio Senate where he represented District 27. He was appointed to the Senate in 2001 and won re-election for his first full term in 2002. In 2006, he was elected to the post again before reaching the term limit in 2011.

Morckel ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House District 13 in 2020, but failed to secure the nomination.

28th Ohio Senate District

Due to term limits, incumbent Democrat Vernon Sykes cannot run again. Hudson Democrat Casey Weinstein, currently representing the 34th District in the Ohio House, is running for Sykes' 28th District seat, which represents all of Akron.

“I'm incredibly excited to represent the city and take this next step and be as loud and proud of a voice as I can be for us in the Senate,” Weinstein said.

The primary won't be a factor in this race; Stow's Jonathan Anthony Leisser is the lone candidate running on the Republican side.

31st Ohio House District

Here's another race that won't heat up until after the primary.

Republican incumbent Bill Roemer is running unopposed in March.

Roemer won election to the 38th House District in 2018. Following redistricting, he defeated Democrat Rita Darrow in 2022 to represent the 31st House District.

On the Democratic side, Anthony J. Harris of Cuyahoga Falls is the sole candidate.

In 2020, Harris lost to Matt Shaugnessey in his bid for the Ohio House District 36 party nomination. Shaugnessey lost to Republican Bob Young in the general election.

32nd Ohio House District

Two Republicans in New Franklin — Mary Stormer and John K. "Jack" Daniel — are seeking the nomination in the 32nd district. The seat is currently vacant after Bob Young's resignation in October weeks before being convicted of domestic violence for hitting his wife.

The Summit County Republican Party recommended that the Ohio House name Daniels, a New Franklin City Council member, to replace Young. Ohio House Speaker Jason Stephens said last week that the winner of the primary will be tapped to fill the vacancy.

James J. Colopy from Akron is seeking the Democratic nomination.

33rd Ohio House District

Incumbent Democrat Tavia Galonski won't seek to retain the seat because she running for Summit County clerk of courts.

Democrat Veronica Sims, who serves as District 5 representative for Summit County Council, has filed to run for Galonski's seat.

No Republicans have filed to run in this race.

34th Ohio House District

Adam Bozic is running unopposed in the Republican primary in an attempt to win the seat currently held by Casey Weinstein.

Three Democrats — Derrick Hall, Nathaniel Jarosz and Dina Edwards — are jockeying for the chance to keep the seat blue following Weinstein's exit.

35th Ohio House District

Republican Steve Demetriou is seeking reelection to the seat he won 2022. He'll be unopposed in the primary.

Mark Curtis from Twinsburg is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Summit County sheriff

Republican Shane Barker, facing no internal challengers, will try to unseat incumbent Democrat Kandy Fatheree, who defeated him in a hotly contested 2020 race. Fatheree is also unopposed in the primary.

Independent candidate Christopher Boyd has entered the race as well.

Summit County clerk of courts

Democrat Tavia Galonski, who currently represents the 33rd Ohio House District, will seek the office being vacated by Sandra Kurt. Kurt was elected as Akron Municipal clerk of courts in November.

Napoleon Rodgers Jr. and Katie Reed are running for the Republican nomination in the race.

Summit County engineer

Incumbent Democrat Alan Brubaker is running unopposed in his party's primary, and no Republicans have filed to run for the seat.

Summit County fiscal officer

Kristen Scalise is running unopposed in her reelection bid for Summit County Fiscal Officer. Republican Scott Sigel also is running unopposed for his party's nomination.

Summit County Council

  • District 1: Incumbent Democrat Rita Darrow is running unopposed in the primary; Yulia Gray has filed for the Republican nomination.

  • District 2: Incumbent Democrat John Schmidt faces no primary opposition, and no Republicans are running.

  • District 3: Two Stow Republicans are running; At-Large Stow City Councilman Jeremy McIntire is running against incumbent Gloria Rodgers. David Licate, also an at-large Stow City Council member, is seeking the Democratic nomination.

  • District 4: Democrat Jeff Wilhite is running unopposed. No Republicans filed.

  • District 5: Brandon Ford is running against Ralph Paulk for the Democratic nomination for the seat, currently held by 33rd Ohio House District candidate Veronica Sims. Cynthia Blake is running unopposed for the Republicans.

  • District 6: Incumbent Christine Higham is running opposed on the Democrats' side; Nicholas Rubino is the lone Republican running.

  • District 7: Republican Bethany McKenney appears headed toward reelection with no opposition within her party and no Democrats running.

  • District 8: Democrat Richard Justice is running against Matthew Shaughnessy in the primary primary. Republican incumbent Anthony DeVitis did not file to run for reelection; Kyle Burke and Joseph Kacyon are seeking the party nomination.

Court of Common Pleas judge

Democratic incumbents Kathryn Michael, Jennifer Towell and Susan Baker Ross are all running unopposed in the primaries to retain their seats. Two of them will face Republican opposition in November; Joseph Darwal of Copley has filed to challenge Towell, and Susan Steinhauer of Stow is running against Ross.

County executive

Democrat Ilene Shapiro is running unopposed in the primary, and no Republicans have filed.

9th District Court of Appeals judge

Scott Elliot is running unopposed for the Democratic nomination; Republican incumbent Jennifer Hensal is also unopposed.

County prosecutor

Incumbent Sherri Bevan Walsh and Elliot Kolkovich have filed for the Democratic nomination, but only one will likely remain in the primary race.

Walsh is undergoing heart surgery following complications from a 2020 COVID-19 diagnosis. Kolkovich — currently the community outreach prosecutor — filed petitions to run at Walsh's behest as a hedge against her potential retirement. Walsh will make a determination about her future in the new year.

Republican John Greven is running for his party's nomination in the race.

Contact Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com or 330-541-9413

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Here's who's running in the March 2024 primaries in Summit County