A strong showing in Cuyahoga County for U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich wasn't enough to beat U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur in the race for the newly configured 9th Congressional district on Tuesday.
With nearly all of the precincts counted around the North Coast, the Toledo Democrat defeated challenger Kucinich by roughly 11,000 votes, according to unofficial election results.
Kucinich conceded the contest at around midnight at Rubin's Deli in Cleveland.
This Democratic primary for the new 9th Congressional district shaped up to be a battle among the two veteran Democrats and political newcomer, Graham Veysey.
As expected, the votes at western edge of the district — Kaptur's base near Toledo — came in heavy for her.
In Lucas County, she got 18,984 votes, compared with Kucinich's 736.
In Lorain County, Kaptur won by 4,004 votes. In Erie County, Kucinich lost by 4,005 votes.
In Ottawa County, Kaptur won by more than 1,500 votes.
However, in Cuyahoga County, Kucinich won by more than 15,000 votes, according to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections.
But it wasn't enough to overcome the support Kaptur received in the counties to the west.
Kaptur issued a statement to the media at around 1 a.m., thanking Veysey for his "energy and enthusiasm" and Kucinich for his "spirited debate."
"We will need them and their supporters' help to work for the betterment of all of northern Ohio," she said.
Republicans this year and put the political veterans in the same district, stretching 100 miles along Lake Erie from Cleveland to Toledo.
"We knew full well that redistricting was going to impose some challenges," said Kucinich shortly after he conceded at Rubin's Deli in Cleveland on Tuesday night. "We understood at the beginning that we were at a disadvantage. But we made every effort to win."
He said Kaptur ran an advertising campign in the Cleveland-area that was "utterly lacking in integrity."
"I don't think the people in Toledo have any idea the kind of campaign she ran here," Kucinich added.
"Don't cry any tears for me."
Polls leading up to Election Day showed the long-time Congressional veterans in a dead heat.
All three candidates made stops around the North Shore on Tuesday.
Kaptur was up early, making stops at the in Lakewood at 8:30 a.m., before heading west to her home base in Toledo.
Kucinich made several stops around the new 9th District, too.
Veysey had crews of supporters at polling stations across the North Coast.
In a prepared statement, Veysey said that he reached out to Kaptur to congratulate her on the victory.
"We didn't win in the vote count, but we won by changing the conversation and getting two incumbents to talk about the issues that matter," Veysey said in the statement. "We are around to fight another day and will continue to challenge the status quo."
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Here are the unofficial results from the Ohio Secretary of State website.
Candidate Votes* Marcy Kaptur 39,171 Dennis Kucinich 29,759 Graham Veysey 2,786*Results are unofficial.
