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U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce, a Republican seeking his eighth term in Congress, faces Democrat Maria Jukic, a former Euclid City Council member, in the 14th District race.
The district includes all of Trumbull, Lake, Ashtabula and Geauga counties. With redistricting taking effect with this election, the 14th is adding a small part of Mahoning County and making a minor change to what part of Portage County it includes.
The district favors Republicans 58.5% to 41.5% for Democrats based on partisan statewide voting results between 2016 to 2024, according to the Ohio Redistricting Commission.
Joyce, of Bainbridge, pointed to his record of accomplishments in Congress, including serving on the powerful House Appropriations Committee and bringing back $66.1 million to the district - more than any other member of the state's House delegation, and said he has another $60 million in funding for the district preliminarily reserved.
"This funding has historically supported everything from roadways and shoreline stabilization, to first responders and hospitals, as well as the jobs that come with building and implementing these critical projects," Joyce said.
Joyce said: "It's been a great opportunity, an honor of a lifetime, to represent this area now for the last 14 years."
Joyce said the Mahoning Valley is "so ripe for growth," and his position on Appropriations will help. He said the Valley is "one of the best places as we restore manufacturing."
Jukic, who was senior director of the Cleveland Clinic's Art & Medical Institute for 18 years before the job was eliminated in August, said: "There seems to be kind of a dual narrative of Dave Joyce's work in Congress. On the one hand, he touts a 95-ish percent voting record with President (Donald) Trump in the last two years, and I think 90% total in all of Trump's terms. So he's proud of how often he's worked with the president and supported his legislation. On the other side of the coin, looking from very right observers, he is given the ranking of being a very bipartisan member of Congress. So he seems to be successfully siding with the president in many policies that I think are wrong - including the war in Iran, including tariffs, including cuts to social safety nets to Medicare and Medicaid and the food programs."
Jukic added: "Siding with the president and those things, which I disagree with, and then on that other side of the coin, the bipartisan legislation related to the Great Lakes, related to nursing, a recent one about getting with therapy dogs for customs and border protection - his record can be viewed in two different ways."
Regarding the war in Iran, Joyce said: "I appreciate the fact that President Trump finally took to task Iran. They've been the state sponsor of terror for 47 years. Too many of our kids came home disfigured or in body bags around the world because of their playing in different hot spots and creating tension throughout the world, and I just think that somebody needed to stand up and do it."
He added: "I just wish he'd be more straight with the American people on what the timeline is and what we're doing, and lay out a plan. I mean when you get up and say that we've destroyed the Navy and it's at the bottom of the ocean, or the Strait of Hormuz, and we're still fighting them. People scratch their head. I mean, they're not stupid. What's going on if we did all these things? Why do we still have a battle going on? And let's be straight too. Iran knows we're in an election and they know that the change could change the way that this war gets dealt with. So they're holding out, but if we can hold and show the strength that's necessary to back up the president in what he's doing then he needs to lay out, if he doesn't have a plan, develop it, then he's needs to develop it and lay it out for the American people how this is going to end and quickly bring it to a head. One thing he did promise is there would be no more wars like this and here we are in a war."
Jukic said the war needs to end as it's not only costing lives, but it is causing oil prices and groceries to skyrocket. Jukic said Congress overall is less interested about the lives of everyday people.
She said: "The war in Iran and the closing of the Strait of Hormuz has led to, obviously. A decrease in oil and gas production, more difficult access to fertilizer and other petroleum-based products which raise the costs on consumer goods of all kinds - plus oil and gas. So the Iran war needs to be wrapped up, ended, and trying to fix the damage that has been done, including how to make sure the Strait of Hormuz continues to stay open."
Jukic said her priorities, if elected, include reducing the cost of living, addressing the issues of artificial intelligence and data centers, and making healthcare more accessible and affordable.
Regarding the cost of living, Jukic wants to expand the Child Tax Credit, cap childcare costs, make utilities and data centers pay their fair share, crack down on price gouging and shrinkflation, lower housing costs by expanding the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and investing in new construction, raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, protect overtime pay and take on corporate consolidation.
As for AI, Jukic said: "Americans should have clear, enforceable rights when AI is involved in decisions that affect their lives. I will push for a federal framework that guarantees basic protections, including knowing when you're interacting with an AI, having meaningful human review for major decisions, getting an explanation when AI is used to deny you things like credit, employment or benefits, and protection from biased or discriminatory algorithms."
Jukic also wants to protect workers from AI displacement, regulate algorithmic decision-making, combat AI-generated misinformation, protect privacy and personal data, ensure AI safety and transparency, keep AI out of unaccountable surveillance, invest in AI literacy and public research, and protect creative workers.
Regarding data centers, Jukic would seek to fund the Environmental Protection Agency to reestablish the former Office of Noise Abatement and Control, make Big Tech sow its work, make data centers pay their own power bills, not give one federal dollar to data centers without local community consent, defend communities' right to reject data centers, protect water supplies and claw back what was taken on broken promises.
On healthcare, Jukic wants to lower the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 62, break up healthcare monopolies, take on pharmaceutical pricing, expand access in healthcare deserts, address the medical debt crisis and, as a long-term goal, work towards universal healthcare coverage.
Joyce wants to continue working to strengthen the economy, protect and preserve the Great Lakes, and expand rural healthcare.
Joyce said: "Throughout my career, I have been a constant champion to cut unnecessary spending, grow our economy and support American jobs."
Joyce said he voted for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act because it was the "largest tax cut for working families in American history" that put "more money back in the pockets of hardworking families."
Joyce said the Great Lakes are "one of America's greatest natural and economic resources." Joyce said he is "proud to have authored and championed the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, landmark legislation that provides millions of dollars in funding to ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy the Great Lakes, and I will continue fighting for this critical funding in the next Congress."
Joyce said he has "worked tirelessly to protect and expand our healthcare system here in northeast Ohio."
That includes introducing legislation to extend grant funding for local emergency medical services agencies to recruit and train their workforce as well as two bills aimed at increasing nurse faculty workforce and support their workforce development, he said.