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Kaptur Statement on Initial 2020 Census Results

April 26, 2021

Ohio will lose one Congressional seat in reapportionment

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Dean of Ohio's Congressional delegation and the longest serving woman in the history of the U.S. House of Representatives, released the following statement after the U.S. Census Bureau reported the first 2020 Census results, which included the number of seats each state will have in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Census Bureau found that Ohio will lose one seat, dropping from 16 Members of Congress to 15.

"Today's result is unfortunate, but not unexpected," said Rep. Kaptur. "Going forward, the fact remains that Ohio voters in 2018 overwhelmingly approved bipartisan map-drawing by a 3-to-1 margin. As such, the Ohio State Legislature and Governor DeWine have an obligation to the voters that Ohio will adopt bipartisan map drawing. It is on all of us to hold accountable to that promise every single Republican in power at the state level in Ohio. We have a once in a decade opportunity to redraw Ohio's district lines in a way that reflects the makeup of our state, keeps communities whole, and puts voters first. Ohio is among the most egregiously gerrymandered states in the country – despite Republican and Democratic voters being almost equally split, only four Democrats were elected to Congress in the 2020 election, compared to 12 Republicans. Simply put, we cannot squander this opportunity to do right by the voters and strengthen our democracy. I look forward to reviewing the redistricting commission's proposals when they are released later this year and will continue to urge for the restoration of community continuity and geographic commonsense for Ohio's congressional districts."

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kaptur.house.gov