Editor's note:
The Associated Press called the race in Sykes' favor at 2:53 p.m. Wednesday. The incumbent congresswoman finished with 51% of the vote to challenger Kevin Coughlin's 49%.
U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes declared victory early Wednesday for the Ohio District 13 seat, one of the most competitive congressional races in the nation.
With 99% of the votes counted by 11:45 a.m. Wednesday, Sykes was leading her opponent, Republican Kevin Coughlin, by almost 8,000 votes. Although the Associated Press has yet to call the race, Sykes, the incumbent, declared victory in a statement sent overnight.
A few hours after the polls closed Tuesday, Sykes was leading with 55.2% of the votes, while Coughlin had 44.8%, with 47% of the votes counted.
Sykes expressed her gratitude in the statement for the support she has received since her first term in Congress and reaffirmed the issues she plans to focus on during her second term.
“As I said when I was elected to Congress the first time, we’re all going to Washington,” Sykes said in the statement. “There are many important issues to tackle in the new Congress and I look forward to continuing to work across the aisle to find practical solutions to the problems impacting families across Northeast Ohio.”
Although a packed crowd was present early Tuesday night at the Summit County Democratic Party’s election night watch party at the Knight Stage downtown, by midnight attendance was sparse as election results trickled in. At 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, Sykes took the stage to thank the remaining supporters for sticking around, Ideastream reported.
Summit County — which is part of the 13th Congressional District, along with northern Stark County and part of southwestern Portage County — experienced delays in counting the ballots amid an influx of absentee ballots arrived on Election Day, according to Summit County Democratic Party Chair Mark Derrig.
District is as 50-50 as they come, Sykes says
During the day, prior to the election watch party, Sykes traveled to polling locations around the district to greet voters. Looking at her campaign as a whole, Sykes said she felt good about the work she and her team accomplished.
“I think it is as 50-50 of a district as it comes,” Sykes said. “But I think what will put us over the edge is that we’ve been working with people very closely in our office. They have a track record. We have a track record, and they know that they have been able to count on us.”
Signal Akron reached out to Coughlin’s team for comment about the updated results, but has not received a response.
Nearly three hours into his Tuesday watch party at Ohio Brewing Company in Cuyahoga Falls, Coughlin made a brief appearance before local media at 10:35 p.m. to discuss the delay in voting results from the Summit County Board of Elections.
“We have no idea how long it’s going to take full results to start getting in,” a visibly frustrated Coughlin said. The candidate added his campaign would shut down for the evening.
