Derek Merrin
R · U.S. House, OH-9 · Tier 1/2
Tier 1/2, between “Firmly pro-Israel” and “Mainstream pro-Israel”
Former Ohio state representative (2016–2024) in a rematch with Rep. Marcy Kaptur after losing OH-9 by under a point in 2024. His Israel record comes from the statehouse: he was one of 37 House cosponsors of Ohio’s 2016 anti-BDS law (HB 476, which bars state agencies from contracting with companies that boycott Israel) and voted for it twice, and he cosponsored and voted for House Resolution 292 (October 11, 2023, adopted 88-1), expressing “unwavering support for the people of Israel.” The RJC endorsed him in July 2024 as “a rock-solid Israel ally”; that month he called Kaptur’s criticism of Netanyahu’s address to Congress “misguided,” saying, “Neither the Israeli nor the Palestinian people will be able to live in peace with Iranian-backed terrorist organizations fomenting chaos and death … I continue to stand with Israel against the evil espoused by Hamas and other Iranian proxies.” His campaign site has no issues page.
A 1/2, not a clean 1. Every Israel act found on his record is supportive and carries no daylight — cosponsor and Yea on Ohio’s anti-BDS contracting law (House passage 83-13, Nov 29, 2016; final House vote 74-19, Dec 8, 2016) and cosponsor and Yea on the October 2023 resolution of “unwavering support” — and the RJC vouches for him as “a rock-solid Israel ally.” But each act is a cosponsorship alongside dozens of colleagues, not authorship or anti-BDS enforcement he drove himself, and he has no Israel platform or brand of his own, so there is no leadership on the issue. With no concern for Palestinian civilians in the record beyond blaming “Iranian-backed terrorist organizations” for keeping “the Palestinian people” from peace, a flat 2 is not supported. Counter-case: a clean 1 if cosponsoring a state anti-BDS statute is read as anti-BDS leadership.
Open the full card, with votes, money and every source, on elect26 →
elect26 places 2026 midterm candidates on a six-tier spectrum, from 1 (most pro-Israel) to 6 (most critical of Israel).