ATHENS, Ohio — Athens County chose an incumbent in the race for a seat in the House of Representatives, and a challenger in the other, according to unofficial election night results.
In a nearly 400-vote margin, Athens County Ohio House District 94 voters selected incumbent, Ohio Rep. Kevin Ritter (R-Marietta).
Meanwhile, Ohio House District 95 voters in Athens County overwhelmingly voted for Democratic challenger Paul Cameron, of St. Clairsville, against incumbent State Rep. Ty Moore (R-Caldwell).
Ohio House District 94
Incumbent Republican Kevin Ritter will continue to represent Ohio House District 94, defeating Democratic challenger Wenda Sheard. The two previously competed against each other for this seat in 2024.
“I’m still closely watching what’s going on statewide, what’s going on in some of my colleagues’ races, but I’m very pleased with the result in my race,” Ritter told the Independent.
In 2024, Ritter won Athens County receiving 7,871 votes to Sheard’s 6,303. Tonight, Athens County residents swung the vote in Sheard’s favor with 5,912 votes for Sheard and 5,519 votes for Ritter.
Ohio House District 94 also contains Meigs and Washington counties, which also favored Ritter.
In Meigs County, Ritter received 5,256 votes to Sheard’s 2,142, according to unofficial results. In Washington County, Ritter received 14,303 to Sheard’s 8,065, according to unofficial results. Overall, Sheard received around 16,000 votes to Riter’s 25,000.
“I’d just like to thank the folks that work so hard to get out and vote,” Ritter said.
“Anytime you run a campaign, you’ve got people that put out signs for you and help you with fundraisers and things like that, and they never get mentioned. So I I just sincerely appreciate all the volunteer time that people put in for my campaign”
Sheard expressed gratitude for the democratic process and said she plans to keep organizing for the betterment of all Ohioans.
“I am grateful to all the candidates on the ballot who were willing to raise the issues and who are willing to serve the public,” Sheard told the Independent. “I look forward to working with members of the public to do our part to make Ohio a better place for all Ohioans.”
Both candidates received less votes this year than they did in 2024, but Ritter received roughly 2,300 less votes while Sheard received about 400 less votes. Sheard told the Independent that this shift was made possible by building a “phenomenal” network of volunteers in Athens County that will continue to influence local politics.
“We have won by building a large network of volunteers all around our district, by networking with candidates all around Ohio,” Sheard said in her concession speech in Washington County.
Ohio House District 95
Incumbent Moore won, according to the Associated Press. Ohio House District 95 includes Harrison, Noble, and Morgan counties; parts of Belmont, Guernsey, and Athens counties (including the City of Athens).
In Athens County, Moore received 1,564 votes, whereas Cameron received 7,056.
On Tuesday night, Cameron told the Independent that his campaign “ran the best race that we could under the circumstances.” He added that residents of Southeast Ohio “have decided that they like the status quo.”
Moore did not immediately return a request for comment.
