Summary
Kevin J. Coughlin is a former Republican member of the Ohio Senate, who represented the 27th District from 2001 to 2010. He was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 1997 until 2000. He served as Clerk of the Stow Municipal Court from 2013 to 2015.
Born: 1970 (age 54 years), Mayfield Heights, OH
Party: Republican Party
Spouse: Anne Coughlin
Candidate for: 2024 Ohio Member of the US House elections. Coughlin lost this race.
Previous offices: Ohio State Senator (2001–2010), Ohio State Representative (1997–2001)
Education: Bowling Green State University, Woodridge High School
OnAir Post: Kevin Coughlin
News
Voters throughout Summit County, parts of Stark County and a sliver of Portage County on Tuesday chose Kevin Coughlin as the 13th Congressional District Republican candidate they want to run in the November election.
Coughlin took an early lead in the three-way race and ended up beating his closest competitor by about 22,500 votes.
He had 39,088 votes compared to Chris Banweg’s 16,583 and Richard Morckel’s 4,451, according to unofficial results.
He finished first in all three counties, receiving about 67% of the vote in Summit, 62% in Stark and 65% in Portage.
He will face U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, in the fall.
About
Overview
Kevin Coughlin grew up in an Ohio working-class family where he learned the values of hard work and resilience early on. Kevin was raised by his single mom and they moved in with his grandparents to keep a roof over their head.
His mom worked to help the unemployed, his grandfather was a veteran and union electrician, and his grandmother was a phone operator and grocery store clerk. Together, they showed him that with sacrifice, hard work and can-do attitude, anything is possible.
Kevin took his first job at 15 earning $2.50 an hour flipping burgers and hot dogs at the B-K Rootbeer Drive-In and worked his way through college flipping pizzas at Mark’s Pizza’s Pub to afford his studies at Bowling Green.
After graduating, Kevin became passionate about creating educational opportunities that would break the cycle of poverty for Ohio students. Kevin got involved at the grassroots level to pass scholarship programs to help K-12 students to escape underperforming schools and attain better opportunities to achieve the American Dream.
This commitment to public service led him to the Ohio House of Representatives and State Senate where he fought tirelessly to protect victims of crime and stood up to the leaders in both parties to defend Ohio taxpayers. In the legislature, Kevin created Ohio’s Amber Alert System, passed legislation to close the domestic violence loophole, and stood up to the party bosses when they worked to pass the largest tax increase in Ohio history.
Since then, Kevin remained active in his community, raised a family and has become a successful small business owner.
Now, Kevin is running for Congress to defend the American Dream for future generations – because he’s lived it – and is worried as he sees DC pushing policies that have put the American Dream further and further out of reach for too many.
He lives in Bath with his wife of 30 years, Anne, a physical therapist. Together, they have two daughters.
Source: Campaign Site
Web Links
More Information
Wikipedia
Kevin J. Coughlin (born May 13, 1970)[1][2] is a Republican former member of the Ohio Senate, who represented the 27th District from 2001 to 2010. He was a member of the Ohio House of Representatives from 1997 until 2000. He served as Clerk of the Stow Municipal Court from 2013 to 2015. Since 2010, he has been president of Lexington Companies, a marketing company.
Coughlin won the Republican nomination in the 2024 primary for Ohio’s 13th congressional district. He was narrowly defeated by Democrat Emilia Sykes in the general election. Coughlin has announced that he will seek a rematch with Sykes in the 2026 election.[3]
Life and career
Coughlin graduated from Woodridge High School in Peninsula, Ohio, in 1988, received a BA from Bowling Green State University in 1992, and a Master of Public Administration from BGSU in 1994. In 1996, he ran for the Ohio House of Representatives after Representative Wayne Jones vacated to run for the Ohio Senate. He won the seat, and was sworn into office on January 3, 1997. He won reelection in 1998 with 63.64%, and again in 2000 with 63.9% of the vote.[4]
Coughlin served two and one half terms in the Ohio House of Representatives.
Ohio Senate
After four terms in the Ohio Senate, Senator Roy Ray retired early in 2001, leaving Senate Republicans to appoint someone to the vacant 27th District. Coughlin was appointed, and was sworn into office on February 2, 2001. He won his own four-year term in 2002 with 52.98% of the electorate against Democrat Tom Bevan. He won reelection in 2006 with 52.28% again Judy Hanna. In the Ohio Senate, Coughlin was Chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services, & Aging Committee from 2004 to 2011.[5]
Later career
In 2009, Coughlin considered running for Governor of Ohio. He declined to run after former Congressman John Kasich announced his candidacy.[6][7]
Coughlin formed an exploratory committee to consider a run for United States Senate in 2012. In October 2011 he announced he would not run, citing incumbent Sherrod Brown‘s strong polling numbers.[8]
Coughlin serves on the board of directors of the Ohio Capital Square Foundation and is a member of the Summit County Republican Executive Committee and Finance Committee. He lives in Bath Township, Ohio.
Coughlin is the Ohio chair for U.S. Term Limits.[9]
United States House of Representatives elections
Coughlin easily defeated two opponents to win the 2024 primary to be the Republican candidate for Ohio’s 13th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.[10] During the general election, he was narrowly defeated by incumbent Democrat Emilia Sykes.[11]
Coughlin is seeking a rematch with Sykes in the 2026 election.[3]
2024 Congressional campaign
In 2024, Coughlin was the Republican nominee for Ohio’s 13th Congressional District, running against incumbent Democrat Emilia Sykes. The race was closely contested, with significant national attention and outside spending. Political action committees aligned with Republican leadership, including the Congressional Leadership Fund, supported Coughlin’s candidacy through independent advertising campaigns.[12]
Some of the advertisements highlighted Sykes’s previous support for bail reform legislation, a topic that became a focal point during the campaign. Media coverage at the time noted that the ads generated debate over public safety policy and campaign messaging.[13]
Coughlin ultimately lost the election, receiving approximately 48.9% of the vote.
References
- ^ https://www.gongwer-oh.com/directories/bio.cfm?nameid=46402
- ^ https://www.akron.com/articles/ohio-representative-to-congress-district-13
- ^ a b Eaton, Sabrina (2 April 2025). “Republican Kevin Coughlin seeks 2026 rematch against Democratic U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes”. Cleveland.com. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
- ^ “2000 general election results”. November 7, 2000. Archived from the original on June 27, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2011.
- ^ “Senator Kevin Coughlin (R) – District 27”. 26 March 2010. Archived from the original on 26 March 2010. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ “State Sen. Kevin Coughlin drops from governor’s race”. Cleveland.com. 13 July 2009. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ “Coughlin quits governor’s race – News – Ohio”. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2015-01-26.
- ^ “Kevin Coughlin pulls out of U.S. Senate race”. Cleveland.com. 25 October 2011. Retrieved 10 November 2017.
- ^ “Pressure grows for Congress to enact term limits”. WSYX. 14 February 2025. Retrieved 22 May 2025.
- ^ Eaton, Sabrina (19 March 2024). “Kevin Coughlin wins GOP primary in Ohio’s 13th congressional district; will take on freshman Democrat Emilia Sykes”. cleveland.com. The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
- ^ Kreider, Derek; Williams, Patrick (5 November 2024). “Emilia Sykes reelected in 13th Congressional District race as Kevin Coughlin concedes”. Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved 7 November 2024.
- ^ “GOP Super PAC targets Emilia Sykes with misleading crime ads”. American Journal News. October 12, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
- ^ “District 13 race is a toss-up, says candidate Kevin Coughlin”. Signal Akron. March 10, 2024. Retrieved May 23, 2025.
External links
- Kevin Coughlin.com official website
- Lexington Companies official website
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