Ohio’s 16th Congressional District, one of Ohio’s two open U.S. House races, has found its challengers: Republican Anthony Gonzalez and Democrat Susan Moran Palmer.
The Republican primary found two rising young conservatives squaring off, as they hoped to replace exiting Rep. Jim Renacci, who’s running for U.S. Senate. Gonzalez, 33, an education technology executive and former Ohio State and NFL football player, won about 53 percent of the vote.
Gonzales defeated 29-year-old Christina Hagan, currently representing the 50th District in the Ohio House of Representatives, and physician Michael Grusenmeyer. Hagan said in her concession speech that she sees the loss as a beginning not an end.
"Unfortunately we were outspent 5-1,” Hagan said. “And sometimes money speaks a little bit louder when it can send a message clearer. Next time we’ll need even more boots on the ground. So we can’t give up. We have to keep fighting for what we believe in.”
During the campaign, Hagan was the more specific of the two in supporting President Donald Trump.
Gonzalez, the son of a Cuba-born Cleveland businessman, will now face Moran Palmer in November’s general election in November.
Moran Palmer is a health-industry professional, whose win came as a surprise in the six-candidate Democratic primary. Grant Goodrich, a former Marine Corps major who directs the Great Lakes Energy Institute at Case Western Reserve University and raised the most money, came in a distant second.
