GOP Rep. Steve Stivers To Resign From Congress

 Rep. Steve Stivers (R-OH), who has represented Ohio in Congress since 2011, will step down next month in a move that will likely trigger a special election for his seat. 

Stivers, 56, announced Monday morning that he will leave Congress on May 16 to serve in a new role as president and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce. The state’s 15th Congressional District, which he has represented continuously since 2011, leans heavily toward Republicans.“It has been my honor and privilege to serve the people of Ohio’s 15th Congressional District,” said Stivers in a statement early Monday. “Throughout my career in public service I’ve worked to promote policies that drive our economy forward, get folks to work, and put our country’s fiscal house in order. “

“That is why I am looking forward to this new opportunity with the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, where I can continue my efforts to support free enterprise and economic growth here in Ohio,” he added. 

According to Politico, the Republican congressman’s resignation will trigger a special election in an area that voted heavily for former President Donald Trump in 2020. 

In the 2020 general election, Stivers received 243,000 votes and beat Democratic challenger Joel Newby, who received 100,000 votes. The congressional district was last represented by a Democrat between 2009 and 2011, and before that, in the mid-1960s. 

Democrats currently hold 218 seats in the House, while Republicans hold 212 seats. Since bills need a majority vote to pass the House, this means that a united Republican minority only needs to peel off three Democratic votes to block legislation from passing. 

However, the House of Representatives also has five current vacancies, including one seat that was held by a late Republican congressman who died in February, and four seats that were previously held by Democrats. One of these seats — Louisiana’s second congressional district — will likely be decided before Stivers resigns. That special election, which will be held April 24, 2021, will be between two Democratic candidates. As The Daily Wire previously reported:

On April 24, a special runoff election will be held between two Democrats vying to represent Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District. Troy Carter and Karen Peterson will be competing to replace former Rep. Cedric Richmond, who resigned in order to join the Biden administration as senior adviser and director of the Office of Public Liaison.

On May 1, a special election will be held in Texas’ 6th Congressional District to decide who will fill the seat of Republican Rep. Ronald Wright, who died in February 2021 of COVID-19. On June 1, another special election will be held in New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District after former Democratic Rep. Debra Haaland was confirmed as interior secretary.

Democratic Rep. Marcia Fudge, who represented Ohio’s 11th Congressional District, was confirmed as Housing and Urban Development secretary, and so yet another special election will be held on November 2.