A former top official with Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lost the Republican primary in Ohio’s 9th district.
Madison Sheahan’s defeat by former state representative Derek Merrin is a possible signal of how unpopular ICE has become amid an aggressive immigration crackdown in President Donald Trump’s second term.
Republican voters apparently thought a former ICE official would not be the ideal candidate to take on longtime Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, who has repeatedly defeated Republican challengers in her Republican-leaning district ― including Merrin, who narrowly lost to Kaptur in 2024.
The 2026 rematch between Kaptur and Merrin will feature friendlier terrain for Merrin thanks to new district maps Ohio Republicans drew up last year.
Sheahan launched her campaign in January with a video touting her work on immigration in the Trump administration.
