Democrat Don Leonard pulled off an upset against Republican Congressman Mike Carey in Ohio’s15th Congressional District Tuesday evening.
The Associated Press projected Leonard beat Carey to win his first full term in Congress. Unofficial results from the Ohio Secretary of State’s website show Leonard leading with 52% of the vote compared to 45% for Carey as of 10:49 p.m with 85% of precincts reporting.
Libertarian Brennan Barrington got less than 3% of the vote.
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Leonard is a first-time candidate and former Ohio State University professor who lives in Columbus’s Hilltop neighborhood. He beat the Democrat’s previous nominee Adam Miller in the May primary after he was arrested at a No Kings protest in Grove City.
Carey was first elected in a special election in 2021 after former U.S. Rep. Steve Stivers left office to lead the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. He’s a former coal lobbyist and lives in German Village.
Ohio’s 15th Congressional District covers southwestern Franklin County parts of Clark, Pickaway and Miami counties and all of Fayette, Highland and Madison counties.
The Cook Political Report rated the race as “lean Republican” ahead of the election. The district, while redrawn in 2022 and 2026, has consistently elected Republicans in the last two decades.
