Emilia Sykes

AKRON — National Republicans have made Democratic U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes one of their top targets in 2026, but last year’s redraw of Ohio’s congressional map has complicated the GOP’s path to flipping her Akron-based seat.

The Cook Political Report, which previously rated Ohio’s 13th Congressional District a tossup, now calls it “Likely Democrat” after new lines shifted the Akron-anchored district a couple points left by adding the college town of Kent.

The remap also pushed former state Rep. Kevin Coughlin out of the race. Coughlin, who won 48.9% against Sykes in 2024, said he no longer saw “a path to victory.”

Still, five Republicans have stepped in to carry the party’s banner against Sykes in November: retired Akron businesswoman Margaret Briem; Northfield radio host Carey Coleman; Copley economic developer Niranjan “Neil” Patel; Akron physician Sanjin Drakovac; and Kevin Siembida, the mayor of Leetonia in Columbiana County.

The district includes all of Summit County and parts of Stark and Portage counties. Congressional candidates are not required to live in the district they seek to represent.

All five challengers start at a significant financial disadvantage to Sykes, who reported more than $1.6 million in her campaign account in Federal Election Commission filings submitted this week. Coleman led the GOP field with nearly $66,000 cash on hand at the end of March. He loaned his own campaign more than $50,000. Patel, who has loaned his own campaign more than $14,000, had $10,000 left. Siembida had nearly $3,900 in his account and Briem had around $3,000. Drakovac did not file a report.

Margaret Briem

Briem, of Akron, is a retired small business owner who provided consulting and coaching services to companies looking to scale. She is an Army veteran who served in a military intelligence unit. She also is a foster and adoptive parent who has helped raise 39 children and adopted nine with special needs, while maintaining her business. She ran for Summit County Council but lost in the primary. She has been active in numerous community organizations over more than 45 years of volunteer work, most recently including the Akron Breakfast Optimist Club and Moms for Liberty – Summit County.

Briem says her military service, business ownership, and experience navigating complex family and nonprofit challenges makes her uniquely qualified. She criticizes Sykes for not doing enough to bring jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities to the district and says the Sykes family’s political legacy has prioritized special interests over constituents. “The proof of my opinion can be seen in the rundown areas of the district,” she says.

Economy: Briem calls for bringing back jobs through manufacturing and development. The economy is a national security issue, and the country needs to be more self-sufficient, she says. She called for restoring and upgrading infrastructure to create jobs while improving the economy.

Immigration: Briem says all inhabitants of the country must be law-abiding. Those who enter illegally should be returned. Legal immigration should be merit-based, and the borders must remain strong.

U.S. intervention in Iran: Briem says she believes in peace through strength and accountability, and that all credible threats need to be addressed based on their potential impact on the nation. “How threats are addressed depends on the specific situation,” she says.

Carey Coleman

Coleman, a Sagamore Hills resident of about 12 years, is a former nightly talk show host on WNIR radio who resigned upon announcing his candidacy. Semi-retired, he now devotes his full attention to the race. His background includes broadcast meteorology. He alsohas served in various civic roles, including as campaign co-chair for United Way of Medina County and chair of a finance committee that helped steer the Parma City Schools out of state receivership. This is his first run for office.

Coleman says years of daily contact with working people through talk radio have convinced him that most citizens no longer trust career politicians. “As someone outside the system, I am a fresh face that believes government can and should do better,” he says. He accuses Sykes of being disconnected from her constituents, pointing to her votes against no-tax-on-tips, no-tax-on-overtime and no-tax-on-Social Security measures.

Economy: Coleman says affordability is a major concern, from gas prices to food and housing costs. He supports tax relief to put more money in constituents’ pockets and says reducing illegal immigration would help lower consumer prices. He pledges to work to bring high-paying jobs back to Northeast Ohio.

Immigration: Coleman supports border security, saying that while legal immigration has helped make the United States great, illegal immigration “has the potential to wreak havoc on all of us.”

U.S. intervention in Iran: With military objectives nearly complete, Coleman says he would like to see a speedy end to the conflict.

Neil Patel

Patel, of Copley, is a business owner in the hospitality industry and a New York Life insurance agent. He ran for U.S. Senate in Ohio in 2022, an experience he says deepened his commitment to public service. He describes his work as centered on creating jobs, supporting local economies, and helping families build financial security.

Patel says he brings real-world experience rather than political theory to the race. “I understand what it means to run a business, create jobs, and support families because I do it every day,” he says. Rather than directing criticism at Sykes personally, he says the district deserves stronger economic focus, greater accountability, and leadership that listens and delivers results.

Economy: Patel calls for supporting small businesses, reducing unnecessary regulations, controlling inflation, and creating good-paying jobs. “When families succeed, communities grow, and that should be the focus of every policy,” he says.

Immigration: Patel says the country needs a system that is secure, lawful and fair — one that protects the borders, enforces the law, fixes delays in legal immigration, and works for American workers and families.

U.S. intervention in Iran: Patel favors a peace-through-strength approach, saying strong leadership and clear deterrence should prevent conflicts before they begin. He says military action should never be the first option, but that the U.S. must never hesitate when American lives are at risk.

Kevin Siembida

Siembida has served as mayor of Leetonia, a village in Columbiana County, for 10 years, and was on village council for two years before that. He is a small business owner in commercial real estate and home remodeling. He is also a former Army paratrooper who served combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, where he earned a Purple Heart.

Although Leetonia is not in the 13th district, he says it is nearby, he has many ties to the district, and the issues are the same. For example, he says communities throughout the region need federal money to replace lead pipes, and says he’d strive to obtain it if elected.

“People aren’t looking for a ZIP code,” he says. “They’re looking for somebody who’s going to work on saving their money, stop wasting tax dollars, and actually cut their taxes.”

Siembida says his two decades of combined military, community and government service set him apart from the other candidates, including Sykes. He says he knows how to administer and execute grant programs to benefit communities, something he argues Sykes and his fellow candidates don’t understand.

Economy: Siembida calls for lowering corporate tax rates to bring companies and good-paying jobs back to Northeast Ohio. He also wants to reduce government spending and cut the national debt, saying current fiscal policy is failing everyday working people. He says utility costs have become unaffordable and that Washington needs to address them.

Immigration: Siembida says the country needs a secure border and a functioning system that ensures people are entering the country correctly and contributing to it. “We just can’t let everybody in and not know who’s coming in,” he says.

U.S. intervention in Iran: Siembida, drawing on his experience as a combat veteran, says he believes the current military action could spare lives in the long run by getting ahead of a problem before it escalates into a full-scale war. “We always have to make sure what we’re doing is right and just,” he says.

Sanjin Drakovac

Drakovac, an Akron physician, did not respond to repeated inquiries from cleveland.com and did not provide a photograph. His campaign website describes him as “a different type of Republican,” and contains a list of policy positions that depart from Republican orthodoxy.

He supports universal health coverage with low out-of-pocket costs, legal abortion, protected access to birth control, free public college and trade school, a minimum of three weeks paid vacation, three months of paid parental leave, and action on climate change — none of them standard GOP positions.

Economy: Drakovac calls for bringing more jobs back to America through a plan that would require every U.S. company to maintain at least 20% of its manufacturing and other jobs inside the country within four years. He also calls for tackling the national debt through new tax rates.

Immigration: Drakovac favors strong southern border control, fewer asylum seekers, an end to birthright citizenship for children of undocumented immigrants, and deportation of those who overstay their visas by more than a month.