Swearingen to face Democratic opponent

HURON — State Rep. D.J. Swearingen, R-Huron, apparently will face a Democratic opponent when he runs for re-election this year. But he'll have to wait until May to find out who, as Democrats will be picking a candidate in a primary. On Wednesday afternoon, two Democrats filed for the post: Sam Artino of Huron and Easton Retzke of Sandusky. No Libertarians filed for the office. The deadline for partisan filings was 4 p.m. Wednesday. The race will be for District 89 in the Ohio House in Erie and Ottawa counties. There's still time for independent candidates to file. No Republican candidates filed to oppose Swearingen. If Swearingen claims a final term for 2027 and 2028, it would be his last one, because of term limits. Sam Artino is a member of the Huron city council. He won another term last fall, running unopposed. He's also served as Huron's mayor and ran for county commissioner in 2012, losing to incumbent Pat Shenigo. Retzke is 21, so he's less experienced, but, apparently, he's wasted little time getting organized. "My priorities include rebuilding our local economy through new industry and good jobs, ensuring government spending truly serves the public, improving K–12 education funding where it's needed most and tackling the affordable housing crisis so families can stay in their homes," he wrote on LinkedIn where he's also posted photos of his campaign materials. Retzke graduated from Ohio State in 2025 and completed a reporting internship at the Register as a student in 2022. As expected, many candidates filed to run for the 9th District U.S. House seat, occupied by U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, and races also took shape locally for other seats in Congress and the Ohio General Assembly. The Ohio primary is on May 5. The general election is Nov. 3. Here's a look at those local races for lawmakers in Washington, D.C., and in Columbus: U.S. House 9th District Kaptur, a veteran lawmaker of Toledo, a Democrat, has filed for another two-term. No other Democrats filed for the seat, which represents much of northwest Ohio, including Sandusky and Port Clinton. Republicans who filed to participate in the primary were former state Rep. Derek Merrin of Monclova Township, state Rep. Josh Williams, R-Sylvania, Alea Nadeem, Sylvania, a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard and an Air Force veteran, Madison Sheahan, the former No. 2 official at ICE, and Anthony Bruce Campbell, who is listed with a Sandusky address but who lives in Groton Township. Campbell works in the healthcare industry and is making his first bid for public office. The Libertarians will have a primary, too. Their candidates are David Gedert and Matt Althaus, both from Toledo. 5th District The 5th District, which includes Huron County, will feature a re-election bid from veteran U.S. Rep. Bob Latta, R-Bowling Green, a Republican. Democrats in the race are Charles Brown, Elyria; Daniel John Burket, Findlay; Brian A. Shaver, Fostoria, and Scott E. Tabor, Columbia Station. Ohio General Assembly House District 89 State Rep. D.J. Swearingen, R-Huron, will be opposed by one of the Democrats squaring off in the May primary, Sam Artino and Easton Retzke. House District 54 State Rep. Kellie Deeter, R-Norwalk, is seeking a second term. There's also a Democrat in the race, Brenda Buchanan of Columbia Station. There aren't any other partisan candidates, so the pair will battle in the general election. Buchanan previously ran against Deeter in 2024. House District 88 State Rep. Gary Click, R-Vickery, has filed for re-election and will face a primary challenge from Republican Eric Watson of Tiffin. Aaron Jones of Tiffin is a Democrat in the race. Senate District 13 Senate District 13, which includes all of Huron and Lorain counties, has two candidates: Republican Gayle Manning of Avon, who currently is a state representative, and Democrat Joe Miller of Amherst. Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals Erie County Municipal Court Judge CJ Kamm is running for a seat on Ohio's Sixth District appellate court. Kamm said he is the sole Republican running to challenge Democrat incumbent Judge Myron Duhart. The court, made up of five judges and located in Toledo, covers appeals originating from Erie, Fulton, Huron, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky, Williams and Wood counties.