Emilia Sykes

As Election Day looms and campaigns enter their final stretch, three candidates running to represent a chunk of Northeast Ohio are continuing their pitch to voters.

Incumbent Democrat Emilia Sykes, Republican challenger Carey Coleman and independent contender Sandeep Dixit have eight days before early voting begins and residents in three counties start casting their votes in the race for Ohio's 13th Congressional District.

In 2025, the 13th District was redrawn. The new map favors Democrats by a 3% to 4% margin, prompting Republican Kevin Coughlin to withdraw, making way for Coleman to enter the race and secure the Republican nomination in the primary.

The district's new boundary includes all of Summit County, a swath of northwestern Stark County and the Kent area in western Portage County.

The Beacon Journal spoke with all three candidates about the race.

Here's what they had to say.

Sykes focused on affordability

Sykes said she and her team are doing their best to reach voters, listen to their concerns and formulate solutions. But she doesn't have any illusions.

"There really is no way to run in politics without running scared," she said.

Sykes said she's heard voters' cries for a lower cost of living, "bar none" their biggest concern.

Anxiety about the job market has been prevalent, alongside worries about what Republicans might do to cling to power, including deploying the National Guard to polling sites on Nov. 3 to discourage people from voting, she said.

If reelected, Sykes said she and other Democrats would work to end the war in Iran and tariffs, which drive up costs, and rein in Republican President Donald Trump's administration.

Sykes said she's one of 12 Democrats tapped by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to deliver results on affordability. Sykes said her focus in the group is housing.

"We have the responsibility to put forth an agenda that will, in the very immediate first few days (of) the term, come up with the different policies that will help reduce the cost of living," particularly around housing, Sykes said.

Coleman sees grassroots support

"When we go out to parades or fairs or do public events, I am absolutely amazed at the outpouring of support," Coleman said.

Television and radio appearances aren't a substitute for human interaction, he said.

"From a grassroots perspective," said Coleman, "I think the campaign is absolutely fantastically well."

The support he's received, he said, was unexpected and he's surprised and humbled by how many people are backing him.

Coleman, a former radio talk show host for WNIR-FM and television meteorologist, stepped away from his radio duties to run for Congress.

He said he joined the race because he wants to improve public safety and border security, protect constitutional rights, and “generally speaking, try to keep taxes under control so working families have more of what they earn.”

In the final leg of the campaign, Coleman said the only winning strategy is continuing the grassroots tactics so far employed – "keep going to events, keep touching and interfacing with people, and let them know that I'm a voice of somebody who lives in the district and participates in many many things in the district, and I will always be that."

Dixit sees growing support as race winds down

Dixit said word is getting out about his affordability-focused campaign and he's feeling good about his chances of winning.

Since beginning his campaign a year ago, he said attention to his run has "slowly but surely" grown.

Billboards, radio and television ads for his campaign will be running in the last four weeks of the campaign, Dixit said. He said he hasn't accepted any corporate money, only funds from individuals.

"People like why I'm running," he said, "essentially because I'm an engineer, I'm not a career politician."

As an independent Dixit said he's unbound by party doctrine, which will enable him to work with Republicans and Democrats to achieve his goals.

Dixit highlighted the ever widening gap between wages and the cost of living. His platform, listed online, focuses on providing Ohioans with good jobs, providing basic healthcare for all and "Strict enforcement of environmental regulations and privacy protection laws."

He said he believes in the open market, but dislikes how politicians are bought and sold by corporations through campaign donations.

"They get elected," he said, "and they're only passing bills in the interest of corporations."

Contact reporter Derek Kreider at [email protected] or 330-541-9413.