Who will represent Marion County in Congress in 2023? Probably not Jim Jordan

Marion Star
·2 min read
House Republicans unveiled their proposed congressional map for Ohio.
House Republicans unveiled their proposed congressional map for Ohio.

Republicans in the Ohio House and Senate unveiled two different maps Wednesday for the state's 15 congressional districts. Both would leave Democrats with two safe seats despite voter-approved changes to curb gerrymandering.

And both maps would give all of Marion County a different representative in Congress.

Marion County is currently split between the 4th District, represented by Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, and the 12th District, represented by Troy Balderson, R-Zanesville.

The state is required to draw new Congressional district lines to coincide with data from the 2020 Census. Ohio is also going from 16 to 15 seats in Congress because its population did not grow as fast as several other states.

The House Republicans released a map that would place all of Marion County into the 9th District, which is currently represented by Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, but would likely be won by a Republican in the 2022 election based on demographics.

The Senate Republicans released a map that would place all of Marion County into the 5th District, currently represented by Bob Latta, R-Bowling Green.

Senate Republicans released a draft congressional map for Ohio's 15 congressional districts.
Senate Republicans released a draft congressional map for Ohio's 15 congressional districts.

Both maps return Marion County to a single district instead of being split across two districts. Neither Jordan nor Balderson held an office in Marion, with Jordan's office in Bucyrus being the closest.

The Senate GOP map splits 14 counties, far fewer than the current congressional map, which divides 23 counties. Several counties must be divided because their populations exceed that of a congressional district.

Democrats and some non-partisan groups have criticized the proposed maps as being drawn to heavily favor Republicans.

Ohio's current congressional delegation includes 12 Republicans and four Democrats. Maps proposed by Ohio House Republicans and Ohio Senate Republicans could give the GOP as much as a 13-2 advantage. The Senate plan has more competitive districts than the House's, according to popular redistricting analysis website Dave's Redistricting App.

See the House GOP map here and Senate GOP map here.

Both maps have changes that are likely to be nonstarters with legislative Democrats. For example, the 4th Congressional District represented by Jordan, of Urbana, would include Democratic strongholds in Columbus, such as Linden and Clintonville.

Jessie Balmert, a reporter for the USA Today Network Ohio Bureau, contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Who will represent Marion County in Congress in 2023? not Jim Jordan