Republican candidate Derrick Merrin, a former Ohio lawmaker, is getting a second chance at toppling America’s longest-serving member of Congress: Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur. The race is of national significance because Republicans only narrowly control the House of Representatives; gaining a coveted Democrat-held seat could improve the GOP’s ability to advance the agenda of President Donald Trump. Kaptur’s 9th Congressional District, which hugs the Lake Erie shoreline and traverses farmland as well as the Toledo metro area, was recently reconfigured in Republicans’ favor. Republican voters in the district picked Merrin, who narrowly lost to Kaptur in 2024, from a field of five hopefuls. Among them was current Ohio Rep. Josh Williams, the first black Republican elected to the House of Representatives in 50 years....