Emilia Sykes

Five Republicans are running in the May 5 primary for Ohio's 13th Congressional District. The winner will face incumbent Democrat Emilia Sykes in the Nov. 3 election.

Margaret Briem, Carey Coleman, Sanjin Drakovac, Neil Patel and Kevin Siembida are the Republicans who made the ballot. Springfield Township Trustee Jeremy Caudill filed but didn't make the cut.

Summit County Republican Party Chairman Bryan Williams said he's personally most interested in Coleman, Siembida and Patel.

Republican voters have a choice ahead of them on May 5: Whom to send to the general election showdown against Democrat Emilia Sykes?

Five candidates are running for the chance to square off with Akron native from Ohio's 13th Congressional District. Six filed, but one, Springfield Township Trustee Jeremy Caudill, submitted too few valid petition signatures to qualify for the ballot.

The 13th District was redrawn in 2025 to favor Democrats by a 3% to 4% margin, prompting Republican Kevin Coughlin to withdraw. He battled Sykes for the seat in 2024, coming within striking distance. Previously, it was classified as one of the few real tossup districts in the country, being split nearly 50/50 along party lines.

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

Ahead of a possible endorsement by the Summit County Republican Party, chairman Bryan Williams shared his personal opinions about three candidates — Carey Coleman, Kevin Siembida and Neil Patel — set to meet with the party's screening committee on March 16.

Williams said he's most interested in Coleman because of his established public profile from years on television and radio. He noted that Coleman spent an hour discussing the issues as a talk show host on WNIR.

"I think that probably makes him the strongest candidate going into the screening committee in terms of name recognition and ability to talk on the issues," Williams said.

Williams said Siembida has a record of public service, but may face hurdles with voters since he lives outside the district.

"I've told him on several occasions, I think it's hard for me to see a scenario where (district voters) get excited about a person living in Columbiana County as their congressman," Williams said.

Williams said retired businessman Neil Patel caught his eye as a "unique candidate."

Take a look at who's running.

Retired consultant Margaret Briem wants to cut wasteful spending

Margaret Briem of the Uniontown area said her run is motivated by a desire to restore America's WWII-era manufacturing capabilities and concern over national security risks.

During her time with the Army's 109th Military Intelligence Battalion at Fort Lewis, Washington, "I saw how our government was full of national security risks," Briem said, "and I've also noticed how our tech companies have increased the risk (to) our national security with their data mining."

She said Congress needs people like her who understand national security, manufacturing and how to help small businesses minimize waste and maximize profit.

Before retiring, Briem, 64, was a small business consultant and coach for 19 years, 17 of them in Ohio, she said. Briem's family moved to Akron from Uniontown six years ago. Briem said she grew up in California but has lived in Ohio for 20 years.

Briem said she wants to eliminate the tax on social security income and stop insurance company "vultures" from charging people to access certain parts of Medicare, which should be free for everyone upon retirement, she said.

Briem said she wants to write bills that curb wasteful spending by eliminating obsolete programs and redundancies.

Childrens’ data sold for profit is a form of trafficking, she said.

“I would like to write bills that limit data mining, especially data mining of children under the age of 18,” Briem said.

There are many issues facing the district, Briem said, but the two she focused on were a lack of area jobs in manufacturing, software development and agriculture, and a lack of entrepreneurs, particularly women.

“There are all kinds of organizations already in place that could help strengthen women’s entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurship in general, without another single tax dollar being spent,” Briem said.

Media veteran Carey Coleman seeks to pump up U.S. jobs

Coleman 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.”

He said he wants to connect with constituents and take their concerns to Washington D.C.

Coleman, 66, is a former radio talk show host for WNIR-FM and television meteorologist who announced he was stepping away from his radio duties to run for Congress. He said he’s lived in Sagamore Hills for the past 12 years.

To bolster economic stability and lower the cost of living, Coleman wants to “get back to completely full production in this country, producing a lot – as much as we can – and that means more jobs, that means more money flowing into the system.”

“We need a business friendly environment right here in Ohio to bring some of that investment here,” he said. “You need a pitch person, somebody who can actually advocate for that; and that means somebody that is not pining for more regulations and more taxes.”

Coleman said easing regulations on industries will lower costs and attract jobs to the area, but “you do not – in any way, shape or form – want to compromise public health or public safety when we’re talking about regulation.”

Public safety is a priority for Coleman, too, he said.

Coleman said police have been unfairly maligned recently. He wants police to be respected by the community and community leaders, “and I want them fully funded and fully staffed.”

“And I want them to believe that when they go to work that it’s not going to be a hostile environment from city council or the mayorship," he said, "that they have a place where they’re respected and they’re allowed to do their job.”

Medical researcher Sanjin Drakovac says he's different kind of Republican

Sanjin Drakovac brings an outsider's perspective to the race.

“Basically, right now, I’m not liking either political party too much, and I know a lot of other Americans are not liking them as well,” Drakovac said. “That’s why I really wanted to run; I wanted to run to offer people a new option in politics.”

Drakovac, 37, lives in North Akron where he’s resided since 1995. His family fled the Bosnian War, he said.

His campaign website bills him as, “A different type of Republican that can appeal to conservatives, moderates and liberals."

“Some of my main ideas are strong border control, student debt relief, universal health care, tough on crime, three weeks paid vacation, legal abortion, only moderately pro-LGBT – no teaching gender doesn’t exist – pro-U.S. and pro-West,” Drakovac said.

Drakovac said the biggest issue facing the 13th District is student debt relief.

“The federal plan would ideally be to offer student debt relief via taxes,” he said.

Instead of running as an independent, Drakovac said it seemed “easier” to run as either a Republican or a Democrat.

He said he put his skills as a medical researcher to use to prepare for his run.

"I've been doing a lot of political research the last number of years," Drakovac said. "I've been really following the news, I've been looking up different political issues, topics, to really inform myself about all these different issue."

His campaign websites features rationales for voting for him rather than a Democrat or another Republican. For example some Democrats are “very soft on crime” and some "are very pro illegal immigration, but some aren't.”Drakovac's website said it’s unclear “how committed to democracy many (Republican) politicians are,” and, “Many want to ban all abortions, including to save mom, rape, incest. This is weird and extremist and a number of their states have already introduced this. “

Neil Patel believes lawmakers in Washington have forgotten whom they serve

Neil Patel, a life insurance agent, 71, lives in Copley. He said he previously lived in Columbus and moved to the district when he decided to run.

“Ohio and District 13 deserve a voice that will fight for hard working families, not a career politician, in Washington,” Patel said. “I’m a Republican because I believe in limited government, lower taxes, secure borders.”

Thriving small businesses and protecting constitutional rights are high on Patel’s priority list, he said, adding that public education and public safety are important, too.

His campaign website states that he believes in lowering taxes on small businesses, investing in industries that will create high-paying jobs in Ohio and lowering taxes on small businesses.

Additionally, his website says he is “committed to modernizing Ohio's infrastructure, including roads, bridges, broadband, and public transit.”

Patel said even though he’s in a primary race, he’s not running against his fellow Republicans, “I’m running against Emilia Sykes.”

He said that while elected officials in Washington have forgotten who they work for, he hasn’t.

The biggest issues facing the district, he said, is a lack of affordable health insurance, affordable housing and skyrocketing grocery prices.

Lowering health insurance costs, he said, requires more competition between insurance companies.

Patel said making housing affordable calls for collaboration between local governments and investors.

Bringing down grocery prices is more complicated, he said, and would require an act of Congress. He said grocery costs are tied to gasoline prices. When the price at the pump goes up, Patel said, everything else increases, too.

“I’m running to put our district first, restore accountability, defend the values that makes America strong.” Patel said. “Together, we can take our future back.”

Kevin Siembida aims to protect constituents from 'dysfunctional' government

Kevin Siembida’s decision to run is rooted in a desire to make the world better for future generations, he said.

His priorities include tax reform, aiding local businesses and building resilient, opportunity rich communities for the working class and the youth.

“Tax policy is probably one of the hardest things for people’s household incomes,” Siembida said. Businesses are taxed heavily, too, he said.

The current education system, he said, isn’t adequately preparing children for the real world and requires reform.

Siembida, 40, is the mayor of the village of Leetonia in Columbiana County, outside the district’s boundaries. There’s no law preventing Ohio residents from representing an Ohio congressional district where they don’t reside.

"People aren't looking for a ZIP code to vote for, they're looking for somebody who understands their lives," said Siembida. "They want a representative who's worked with their hands, served their country and knows what it takes to build something from the ground up."

When the 9/11 attacks happened, Siembida was in high school. After graduating, he joined the military and served two tours of duty, he said, one in Iraq and one in Afghanistan, receiving a Purple Heart. When he got out, he said he went to college, started his own construction firm in 2019 and recently co-founded a nonprofit.

As Leetonia’s mayor, Siembida said he’s learned that the federal government is “very dysfunctional” and disconnected from the realities of life facing regular people.

“My grandfathers, they were steel workers; my father was a construction worker,” he said. “We’re just a blue collar family. I learned the value of hard work, and I had a large family where God, your family, your country was all that mattered.”

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