Our 9th U.S. House District: Ground Zero in battle to control congress

Will Republican lawmakers carve it up enough this time to finally defeat Congresswoman Kaptur?

SANDUSKY — Marcy Kaptur is in the crosshairs of a fierce Republican effort to defeat her by any means necessary next year, including doubling down to jerry-rig a gerrymandered redistricting process

U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, was at Churchwell Park on Tuesday for the dedication of a splash pad. From left, school board candidate and reading tutor volunteer Jennifer Ashburn, Tondra Frisby, Kaptur, Kelvin Jeffries, Isaiah Bennett, Zakari Stovall, DelQuon Lover, Josiah Frierson, Isaiah Rankins, (in front of wearing the orange shirt) Saint Agee.

It’s the second time in three years that lawmakers must decide, or have the decision made for them by a commission made up of statewide officeholders. Either way, Republicans hold all the cards.

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State lawmakers must agree with a three-fifths majority by mid-September on new congressional district maps or the state’s Redistricting Commission — made up of the governor, the Secretary of State, the state treasurer, Senate president, Speaker of the House and the Senate and House minority leaders, will decide.

If it feels a little de ja vu-ish, that’s because Republican leaders walked down this same path three years ago, concluding a bruising partisan process during which there was not a serious mention about fairness or if it was truly lawful under the state’s constitution.