WASHINGTON, D.C. — House Speaker Mike Johnson will visit northeastern Ohio later this month to fundraise for Kevin Coughlin, the former Republican state lawmaker looking to unseat Democrat Rep. Emilia Sykes. The visit highlights the national focus on the swing district.

Ohio’s 13th District, located in the Akron area, has been represented by a Democrat in Congress since 1977. As the state has shifted further Republican, however, so has the district.

The Cook Political Report now rates the race there as a toss-up.

Republicans see that rating as an opportunity to unseat Sykes, a freshman congresswoman who was elected in 2022.

Former State Rep. Kevin Coughlin, who has been working in private business for the last 14 years, is returning to politics to challenge Sykes. He said the time was right to flip the seat, and that he was the one to do it, with 14 years of experience in elected office.

“All of that time in the legislature, I represented swing districts. I flipped seats twice,” Coughlin said. “So I've always been somebody that's been there to deliver for people, even if they don't agree with me.”

Coughlin is getting a financial boost from the national Republican Party. Some of his largest campaign donations came from PACs associated with House GOP leadership. The Aug. 27 fundraiser with Speaker Johnson, which costs $500 a plate, could help lessen the fundraising defifict he has against Sykes.

Coughlin has raised nearly $830,000 this cycle, while Sykes has raised $3.4 million this cycle, according to campaign finance records.

Still, Sykes is taking the challenge seriously.

“Every candidate always says you either run unopposed or you run scared. And, I am not taking anything for granted,” Sykes said. “And that's why we are working so hard to get to as many people as we can.”

To woo moderate voters, both candidates said their top priorities were bread-and-butter issues like the economy, rising prices and crime, though Coughlin also mentioned immigration, while Sykes added reproductive rights.

Sykes also touted her record working across the aisle in Congress.

“Not only am I getting support from Democrats, I get it from Republicans and independents alike,” she said. “That is something that I'm very proud of and worked very hard to show, how we can work together, how we can be united.”

Coughlin said his campaign’s internal polling showed him at a tie with Sykes in the last two weeks, just as Vice President Kamala Harris’ elevation to presidential candidate has buoyed Democratic enthusiasm. He predicted that once that enthusiasm wears down, he will be in the lead.

“This is a swing district. Of course, I don't pass up doors. So we're talking to everybody, and, you know, there's a lot of anger out there,” he said. “You get a real sense that people want to change the direction of the country. So I think that this is a very, very good opportunity for a flip here in this district.”

The district is among the top eight districts Republicans are hoping to flip nationally. The National Republican Congressional Committee is also targeting the seats of two other Ohio lawmakers in swing districts: Reps. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, and Greg Landsman, D-Ohio.