Ex-ICE Deputy Loses House GOP Primary in Ohio
Madison Sheahan failed to impress GOP voters with her banter about mass deportations and working for Kristi Noem.
WASHINGTON — The woman who ran the machinery of America’s mass deportation campaign couldn’t win a Republican primary in Northwest Ohio.
Madison Sheahan — who resigned as deputy director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in January to run for Congress — lost Tuesday’s GOP primary in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District to Derek Merrin, the former state legislator who will now face Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, in one of the most closely watched House races of the 2026 cycle.
The race was called quickly. There was no recount drama. Sheahan never broke out.
In a crowded field that also included state Rep. Josh Williams, Air Force veteran Alea Nadeem, and health-care executive Anthony Campbell, Merrin — who lost to Kaptur by fewer than 2,400 votes in 2024 — won on the strength of name recognition, existing campaign infrastructure, and something Sheahan couldn’t manufacture: a record that Ohio Republicans didn’t have to defend.
NO PRIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT EXPERIENCE
Sheahan’s record, by contrast, was the whole story.