Ohio's 1st Congressional District election, 2024

	← 2022
Ohio's 1st Congressional District
	Democratic primary; Republican primary; General election
Election details
	Filing deadline: December 20, 2023
	Primary: March 19, 2024; General: November 5, 2024
How to vote
	Poll times: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Voting in Ohio
Race ratings
	Cook Political Report: Likely Democratic; DDHQ and The Hill: Likely Democratic; Inside Elections: Solid Democratic; Sabato's Crystal Ball: Likely Democratic
Ballotpedia analysis
	U.S. Senate battlegrounds; U.S. House battlegrounds; Federal and state primary competitiveness; Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2024
See also
	Ohio's 1st Congressional District; U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th • 9th • 10th • 11th • 12th • 13th • 14th • 15th; Ohio elections, 2024; U.S. Congress elections, 2024; U.S. Senate elections, 2024; U.S. House elections, 2024; Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House racesOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

Ohio 2024 elections

U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Congressional special elections • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • Special state legislative • Supreme court • Appellate courts • State ballot measures • Local ballot measures • Municipal • Recalls • All other local • How to run for office

All U.S. House districts, including the 1st Congressional District of Ohio, held elections in 2024. The general election was November 5, 2024. The primary was March 19, 2024. The filing deadline was December 20, 2023. The outcome of this race affected the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 119th Congress. All 435 House districts were up for election.

At the time of the election, Republicans held a 220-212 majority with three vacancies.^[1] As a result of the election, Republicans retained control of the U.S. House, winning 220 seats to Democrats' 215.^[2] To read more about the 2024 U.S. House elections, click here.

In the 2022 election in this district, the Democratic candidate won 52.8%-47.2%. Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have defeated Donald Trump (R) 53.5%-45.0%.^[3]

Ohio's 1st Congressional District was one of 37 congressional districts with a Democratic incumbent or an open seat that the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) targeted in 2024. To read about NRCC targeting initiatives, click here. For a complete list of NRCC targeted districts, click here.

For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

General election

General election for U.S. House Ohio District 1

Incumbent Greg Landsman defeated Orlando Sonza in the general election for U.S. House Ohio District 1 on November 5, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Greg Landsman (D)	54.6	213,916
	Orlando Sonza (R)	45.4	177,993

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 391,909
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 1

Incumbent Greg Landsman advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 1 on March 19, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Greg Landsman	100.0	28,025

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 28,025
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 1

Orlando Sonza advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 1 on March 19, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Orlando Sonza	100.0	43,554

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 43,554
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles that may be created in one of two ways: either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey, or Ballotpedia staff may compile a profile based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements after identifying the candidate as noteworthy. For more on how we select candidates to include, click here.

Orlando Sonza

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography: "Public service has always been a core value for me. This commitment is deeply rooted in my Filipino-American upbringing, as my parents instilled in me the importance of giving back to our community. However, it was my time at the United States Military Academy at West Point that truly solidified this core value. I learned what leadership is all about. “Duty. Honor. Country.” is the West Point motto. It was also at West Point where I met my wife, Jessica. After graduation, Jessica and I both served our country as officers in the U.S. Army. I served on active duty as an Infantry Officer and Finance Officer with the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia. When I left active duty, Jessica and I decided to move to Cincinnati to raise our family. While helping to raise our children, I obtained my master's degree in taxation from the University of Cincinnati and my law degree from Georgetown Law. In the course of my advanced studies, I also worked as a Certified Public Accountant at Ernst & Young, LLP Following that, I was honored to continue my commitment to public service with the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office as an Assistant Prosecutor. Currently, I am continuing my public service as the Executive Director of the Hamilton County Veterans Service Commission. I believe that my experience as an Army officer, CPA, and lawyer, have prepared me to to represent the needs and interests of the Ohioans of the First Congressional District."

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

The economy is not working for everyday American citizens. When I get to Congress, I will fight for responsible fiscal policy, tax cuts like the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and de-regulating the market to allow for good competition to lower prices for all.

The border is in crisis right now. Criminals and illegal drugs are pouring into our country and even making their way to southwest Ohio. I will work to secure the border and give officers the resources they need to keep the illegal drugs and criminals out of our communities.

Americans have lost faith in the integrity of those they elected. I will work to restore faith in our institutions by exemplifying the values instilled in me at West Point—duty, honor, country.

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Ohio District 1 in 2024.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Ohio

Election information in Ohio: Nov. 5, 2024, election.

What was the voter registration deadline?

In-person: Oct. 7, 2024
By mail: Postmarked by Oct. 7, 2024
Online: Oct. 7, 2024

Was absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

Yes

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

In-person: Oct. 29, 2024
By mail: Received by Oct. 29, 2024
Online: Oct. 29, 2024

What was the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

In-person: Nov. 5, 2024
By mail: Postmarked by Nov. 4, 2024

Was early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What were the early voting start and end dates?

Oct. 8, 2024 to Nov. 3, 2024

Were all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, was a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When were polls open on Election Day?

6:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. (EST)

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. The section below shows responses from candidates in this race who completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Survey responses from candidates in this race

Click on a candidate's name to visit their Ballotpedia page.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Expand all | Collapse all

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

Image of https://s3.amazonaws.com/ballotpedia-api4/files/thumbs/100/100/OrlandoSouza24.jpg

Orlando Sonza (R)

The economy is not working for everyday American citizens. When I get to Congress, I will fight for responsible fiscal policy, tax cuts like the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and de-regulating the market to allow for good competition to lower prices for all.

The border is in crisis right now. Criminals and illegal drugs are pouring into our country and even making their way to southwest Ohio. I will work to secure the border and give officers the resources they need to keep the illegal drugs and criminals out of our communities.

Americans have lost faith in the integrity of those they elected. I will work to restore faith in our institutions by exemplifying the values instilled in me at West Point—duty, honor, country.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Orlando Sonza (R)

The three main areas of public policy that I am passionate and and can effectively contrbute to are:

1. Taxation policy 2. Foreign Affair

3. Veterans Affairs

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Orlando Sonza (R)

The motto of the US Military Academy at West Point, "Duty, Honor, and Country," to me, perfectly exemplifies the characteristics elected officials should carry into their term in office.

What legacy would you like to leave?

Orlando Sonza (R)

Throughout my entire life, I have lived by the principles and values installed in me through my time at West Point, as a Christian, and as a father. I want to leave a legacy of patriotism, principled decision-making, and most importantly, making the American Promise accessible to as many as possible.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Orlando Sonza (R)

My first role was serving in the Army as an Infantry Officer and Finance Officer with the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Stewart, Georgia. I had this role until I was Honorably Discharged and moved to Cincinnati with my wife.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Orlando Sonza (R)

JD Vance, Vice Presidential Nominee and U.S. Senator, OH

Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House

Steve Scalise, House Majority Leader

Tom Emmer, House Majority Whip

Elise Stefanik, Republican Conference Chair

Rob Portman, Former U.S. Senator, OH

Warren Davidson, U.S. Representative, OH-08

Brad Wenstrup, U.S. Representative, OH-02

Bill Johnson, U.S. Representative, OH-06

Andy Barr, U.S. Representative, KY-06

Steve Austria, Fmr. U.S. Representative, OH-07

Vellie Dietrich-Hall, Former Commissioner, The White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders

The Buckeye Firearms Association

The National Federation of Independent Businesses

Cincinnati Right to Life

What committees interest you?

Orlando Sonza (R)

Foreign Affairs Committee, Budget Committee, Veterans Affairs Committee.

Campaign finance

Name

Party

Receipts*

Disbursements**

Cash on hand

Date

Greg Landsman

Democratic Party

$3,719,975

$3,607,909

$180,115

As of December 31, 2024

Orlando Sonza

Republican Party

$0

Data not available***

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2024. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.
*** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.^[4]
Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Race ratings: Ohio's 1st Congressional District election, 2024
Race tracker	Race ratings
	November 5, 2024	October 29, 2024	October 22, 2024	October 15, 2024
The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter	Likely Democratic	Likely Democratic	Likely Democratic	Likely Democratic
Decision Desk HQ and The Hill	Likely Democratic	Likely Democratic	Likely Democratic	Likely Democratic
Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic	Solid Democratic
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal Ball	Likely Democratic	Likely Democratic	Likely Democratic	Likely Democratic
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Ohio in the 2024 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Ohio, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2024
State	Office	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Ohio	U.S. House	Major party	50	$85.00	12/20/2023	Source
Ohio	U.S. House	Minor party	25	$85.00	3/18/2024	Source
Ohio	U.S. House	Unaffiliated	1% of the vote cast for governor in the district in the last election	$85.00	3/18/2024	Source

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2024 U.S. House elections in the state.
Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.

District map

State party control

Below was the map in use at the time of the election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2024

This section contains data on U.S. House primary election competitiveness in Ohio.

Ohio U.S. House competitiveness, 2014-2024
Office	Districts/ offices	Seats	Open seats	Candidates	Possible primaries	Contested Democratic primaries	Contested Republican primaries	% of contested primaries	Incumbents in contested primaries	% of incumbents in contested primaries
2024	15	15	2	61	30	6	8	46.7%	4	28.6%
2022	15	15	1	67	30	8	10	60.0%	6	42.9%
2020	16	16	0	67	32	11	11	68.8%	10	62.5%
2018	16	16	2	82	32	12	11	71.9%	8	57.1%
2016	16	16	1	59	32	5	5	31.3%	4	26.7%
2014	16	16	0	47	32	6	6	37.5%	5	31.3%

Post-filing deadline analysis

The following analysis covers all U.S. House districts up for election in Ohio in 2024. Information below was calculated on 2/12/2024, and may differ from information shown in the table above due to candidate replacements and withdrawals after that time.

Seventy candidates filed to run for Ohio's 15 U.S. House districts, including 28 Democrats and 42 Republicans. That was 4.7 candidates per district, the most since 2018.

In 2022, the first election after the number of Congressional districts in Ohio decreased from 16 to 15 following the 2020 census, 4.5 candidates ran. In 2020, when the state still had 16 Congressional districts, 4.2 candidates filed per district. In 2018, 5.1 candidates filed.

The total number of candidates who ran for the U.S. House in 2024 was also higher than any other year this decade besides 2018, when 82 candidates ran.

Two districts—the 2nd and the 6th—were open, meaning no incumbents filed to run. That was more than in 2022, when only one district was open, and 2020, when none were.

Rep. Bill Johnson (R), the incumbent in the 6th District, resigned on Jan. 21 to assume the presidency of Youngstown State University. A special election to fill Johnson’s seat took place place on June 11.

Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R), the incumbent in the 2nd district, retired from public office. Eleven candidates—one Democrat and 10 Republicans—ran to replace Wenstrup, the most candidates who ran for a district in 2024.

Fourteen primaries—six Democratic and eight Republican—were contested. That was the fewest contested primaries since 2016, when 10 were. Between 2014 and 2022, an average of 17 primaries were contested.

Three incumbents faced primary challengers, a decade-low. The three incumbents—Reps. Bob Latta (5th), Warren Davidson (8th), and David Joyce (14th)—were Republican.

Democratic and Republican candidates filed to run in all districts, meaning none were guaranteed to either party.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was D+2. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 2 percentage points more Democratic than the national average. This made Ohio's 1st the 200th most Democratic district nationally.^[8]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2020 presidential election would have been in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by Daily Kos.

2020 presidential results in Ohio's 1st based on 2024 district lines
Joe Biden	Donald Trump
53.5%	45.0%

Inside Elections Baselines

See also: Inside Elections

Inside Elections' Baseline is a figure that analyzes all federal and statewide election results from the district over the past four election cycles. The results are combined in an index estimating the strength of a typical Democratic or Republican candidate in the congressional district.^[9] The table below displays the Baseline data for this district.

Inside Elections Baseline for 2024
Democratic Baseline	Republican Baseline	Difference
49.9	48.8	D+1.1

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Ohio, 2020

Ohio presidential election results (1900-2020)

12 Democratic wins
19 Republican wins

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020
Winning Party	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	D	D	D	R	D	R	R	R	D	R	R	D	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	D	D	R	R

See also: Party control of Ohio state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Ohio's congressional delegation as of May 2024.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Ohio
Party	U.S. Senate	U.S. House	Total
Democratic	0	5	5
Republican	2	10	12
Independent	0	0	0
Vacancies	0	0	0
Total	2	15	17

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Ohio's top four state executive offices as of May 2024.

State executive officials in Ohio, May 2024
Office	Officeholder
Governor	Richard Michael DeWine
Lieutenant Governor	Jon Husted
Secretary of State	Frank LaRose
Attorney General	Dave Yost

State legislature

Ohio State Senate

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	7
	Republican Party	26
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		33

Ohio House of Representatives

Party		As of February 2024
	Democratic Party	31
	Republican Party	66
	Other	0
	Vacancies	0
Total		99

Trifecta control

The table below shows the state's trifecta status from 1992 until the 2024 election.

Ohio Party Control: 1992-2024
No Democratic trifectas • Twenty-six years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2018.