Political newcomers look to unseat Dave Joyce in 14th District Republican Primary

Two political newcomers are looking to unseat Dave Joyce in the Republican primary for the 14th Congressional District.

Portage County was previously represented by Tim Ryan in the 13th District and Anthony Gonzalez in the 16th District. Boundaries have shifted through a lengthy and ever-changing redistricting process and if the boundaries are upheld Portage is nearly completely located within the 14th District along with Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties and part of Cuyahoga County. Gonzalez, a Republican, is not seeking re-election and Ryan is campaigning for U.S. Senate.

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Bevin Cormac

One of the challengers, Bevin Cormack of Chesterland, calls herself a Christian mom who loves the Bible. On her website she urges voters to take back the government "from the global elites" and says she'll ban CRT agendas, remove federal oversight of education and legalize marijuana.

One of her goals, if elected, is to impeach the current administration. Her website lists her campaign address as 2022 Let's Go Brandon Dr. — a slogan some on the far right use in place of a vulgar slur against President Joe Biden.

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Patrick Awtrey

Patrick Awtrey of Parma Heights works for a private equity firm and claims on his campaign website to be a distant relative of cowboy Gene Autry. He says he has been a conservative advocate since high school when he worked with his local GOP and trained volunteers.

Among the priorities listed on his website are ending abortion rights, stopping illegal immigration, protecting the Second Amendment and ending COVID restrictions.

Dave Joyce

Joyce, of Chagrin Falls has been a member of Congress since 2012. He has highlighted his efforts to work with both sides of the aisle, notably his work to restore funding to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.

Joyce is also a member of the bipartisan Congressional Cannabis Caucus, which seeks to streamline cannabis legislation at the federal level. Prior to being elected to Congress he served as Geauga County prosecutor.

The winner of the primary will face Democrat Matt Kilboy of Deerfield, who is unopposed in the Democratic Primary.

Early voting is underway at the office of the Portage C Board of Elections, 449 S. Meridian St., Ravenna. You can cast your vote from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday and from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday.

On Election Day, polls are open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. If you're not sure where to vote, visit www.portagecounty-oh.gov/board-elections.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Newcomers look to unseat Joyce in 14th District Republican Primary