EXCLUSIVE: Jim Jordan Makes His Pick In Battleground House Race

Republican Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan is making an early endorsement in a battleground House race to help defeat a vulnerable Democratic incumbent, the 🏢Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.

Jordan, chairman of the influential House Judiciary Committee, announced his support Thursday for Republican candidate Kevin Coughlin who is running to take on incumbent Democratic Ohio Rep. Emilia Sykes for a second time. Coughlin, an Ohio businessman and former state senator, narrowly lost to Sykes in 2024, and the expected rematch contest is expected to be a top pick-up opportunity for House Republicans during the midterms.

“Kevin Coughlin is exactly the kind of guy we need in the United States Congress,” Jordan told the DCNF. “I tell folks all the time that we make this job way too complicated. What did you tell the voters you were going to do when you ran? If elected, go do what you said. That’s what Kevin does. That’s why I am supporting him, and that’s why the voters should support him.”

Coughlin is the only declared Republican candidate in the race thus far.

Jordan and an array of other Republican lawmakers, including Speaker Mike Johnson, backed Coughlin during his first run against Sykes. He came within roughly two percentage points — less than 10,000 votes — of defeating Sykes in November.

Ohio’s 13th congressional district had the closest presidential election result