Marcy Kaptur
Marcy Kaptur, a Democrat who has represented Ohio's 9th congressional district since 1983 and is the longest-serving woman in congressional history, faces Republican Derek Merrin and Libertarian Matthew Althaus in 2026.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
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- Born
- June 17, 1946
- Birthplace
- Toledo, Ohio
- Education
- St. Ursula Academy (1964)
University of Wisconsin-Madison (undergraduate degree in history, 1968)
University of Michigan (Master of Urban Planning, 1974)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (doctoral studies in urban planning development finance, begun 1981)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Marcy Kaptur was born Marcia Carolyn Kaptur on June 17, 1946, in Toledo, Ohio, to Anastasia Delores (Rogowski) and Stephen Jacob Kaptur, both of Polish descent. Her family ran a small grocery store in Rossford, and her mother was an automobile union organizer.
Kaptur volunteered with the Ohio Democratic Party at 13, graduated from St. Ursula Academy in 1964 and was the first person in her family to attend college.
She received an undergraduate degree in history from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1968 and a Master of Urban Planning from the University of Michigan in 1974, and she began doctoral studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981.
Career
Kaptur worked as an urban planner on the Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions from 1969 to 1975 and was director of planning for the National Center for Urban Ethnic Affairs from 1975 to 1977. She then joined the Carter administration as a domestic policy advisor on urban affairs.
In 1982 local Democratic leaders recruited her to run against Republican Ed Weber in the 9th district, and she withdrew from her doctoral program and won the seat with 58% of the vote, taking office on January 3, 1983.
In the House, Kaptur introduced the legislation that established the National World War II Memorial and opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement and the 2008 federal bailout of major banks.
She serves on the Committee on Appropriations, where she is ranking member of the Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and on the Committee on the Budget. She has been dean of Ohio's congressional delegation since 2009 and became the longest-serving woman in Congress in 2023.
In 2024 she defeated Republican Derek Merrin by 48.3% to 47.6%.
2026 race
Ohio's 9th congressional district is based in Northwest Ohio and includes Toledo and the western Lake Erie coast.
The district was redrawn in 2025 in an effort to flip it to the Republican Party, and Marcy Kaptur, the Democratic incumbent who was re-elected in 2024 with 48.3% of the vote, announced she would seek re-election. She was unopposed in the Democratic primary in May 2026, receiving 45,827 votes.
Her Republican opponent is Derek Merrin, a former state representative and the party's 2024 nominee for the district, which makes the race a rematch. Libertarian Matthew Althaus, a manufacturing manager, is also on the ballot for the election on November 3, 2026.