2026 race

OH-11 — U.S. House

2 candidates on the November ballot. Incumbent: Shontel M. Brown.

Read the record. Not the rhetoric.

See where these candidates stand — and who's funding them.

DeepSyte tracks the money and the record in every race against the issues you care about — not party, not press releases. Take the 2-minute values quiz to see your alignment.

How we got here · 2 earlier contests
Democratic primary · Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Shontel M. BrownWon85.5%
  • DArdelia HolmesDefeated7.9%
  • DSean FreemanDefeated6.6%
Republican primary · Tuesday, May 5, 2026
Mike KirchnerWon65.6%
  • RJames Terrelle HemphillDefeated34.4%
Election held
Counting
Tuesday, November 3, 2026

Results appear here once a race is called and verified. Official returns from the Ohio Secretary of State.

Make sure you can vote
Disclosed money in race
$1.6M
Candidate + outside spending. See finance breakdown below.
Incumbent

Currently in office

Challengers

Sorted by fundraising

Mike Kirchner

R
ChallengerFEC H6OH11210

Sign in + take the quiz to see alignment.

Raised this cycle—
Cash on hand: —
3 defeated candidates — show

Ardelia Holmes

DDefeated
ChallengerFEC H6OH11194

Sign in + take the quiz to see alignment.

Raised this cycle$0
Cash on hand: $0

James Terrelle Hemphill

RDefeated
ChallengerFEC H2OH11250

Sign in + take the quiz to see alignment.

Raised this cycle$0
Cash on hand: $0

Sean Freeman

DDefeated
ChallengerFEC H6OH11202

Sign in + take the quiz to see alignment.

Raised this cycle—
Cash on hand: —
Local signal

Early read on OH-11 — U.S. House

A directional read on where this seat is trending, from the signals we have so far. This is an early scaffold — more inputs light up as coverage and constituent activity accrue.

Coverage tone · the matchup
Recent news coverage of the nominees heading to the general election.
Shontel M. Brownlimited coverage
No coverage in our tracked outlets in the last 90 days.
Mike Kirchnerlimited coverage
No coverage in our tracked outlets in the last 90 days.
A media signal, not a poll of the district.
Constituent stakes
No one here has staked a position on a tracked vote yet. As neighbors weigh in on /pressure campaigns, the district's lean will show up here.
Money in the race

Finance breakdown

Disclosed funding shaping this race — both the money candidates raise themselves and the outside spending dropped by independent groups. Issue-ad spending by 501(c)(4) groups is excluded; the FEC doesn't require disclosure of it. See the note below for details.

Candidate fundraising: FEC reports through October 14, 2026 · 2025–26 cycle

Total disclosed
$1.6M
Candidate fundraising + independent expenditures (FEC).
Candidate-direct (Schedule A)
$1.6M
Raised by candidate committees themselves.
Outside spending (Schedule E)
$10
$10 for · $0 against
CandidateRaised directlyOutside forOutside againstNet in corner
Shontel M. Brown(D)incumbent
+ SIERRA CLUB INDEPENDENT ACTION $10
$1.6M$10—$1.6M
Mike Kirchner(R)
$0——$0
3 defeated candidates — show finances
CandidateRaised directlyOutside forOutside againstNet in corner
Ardelia Holmes(D)defeated
$0——$0
James Terrelle Hemphill(R)defeated
$0——$0
Sean Freeman(D)defeated
$0——$0
Where the money comes from

In-state vs out-of-state

Share of each candidate's itemized individual contributions from donors inside OH versus the rest of the country. Excludes sub-$200 unitemized donations (no geography on file) and PAC money — see note below.

Shontel M. Brown(D)69% in-state · $409K itemized
$282K in-state$127K out-of-state
What's counted, what isn't

Candidate-direct is each campaign's reported receipts on FEC Schedule A — individual contributions plus PAC contributions to the candidate's own committee — through the most recent filing.

Outside spending is independent expenditures on FEC Schedule E: money spent by PACs, super PACs, and party committees for or against a candidate, without legal coordination with the campaign. The committees listed under each candidate are the largest disclosed spenders on either side.

In-state vs out-of-state covers only itemized individual contributions — donations over $200, which are the only ones that carry a contributor address at the FEC. Sub-$200 unitemized donations (often a large share for grassroots campaigns) have no geography on file and are excluded, as is PAC money. So the percentages describe where a candidate's itemized individual money comes from, not where every dollar raised comes from.

Not counted: 501(c)(4) "social welfare" organizations run issue ads that frequently mention candidates by name but aren't classified as express advocacy under FEC rules — they file no Schedule E and don't appear in this breakdown. Press reporting on a race may cite figures that include this dark-money spending; ours doesn't.

Where they stand

Issue-by-issue comparison

Positions extracted from each candidate's campaign issues page by AI. Contested rows — where candidates disagree with each other — appear first.

StatementBrownKirchnerYou
Agriculture
SNAP (food stamp) eligibility and benefit levels should be expanded.
—
Agriculture
Federal funding to extend broadband access to rural areas should be expanded.
—
Criminal Justice
The federal government should send more money to local police departments.
—
Criminal Justice
Federal law should allow individuals to sue police officers for civil-rights violations even when officers claim qualified immunity.
—
Economy
The federal minimum wage should be raised.
—
Economy
The expanded child tax credit (refundable, paid monthly) should be made permanent.
—
Economy
The federal government should require employers to provide paid family and medical leave.
—
Education
The government should forgive some federal student loan debt.
—
Environment
The government should set legally enforceable limits on greenhouse gas emissions.
—
Guns
All gun sales — including private ones — should require a background check.
—
Guns
Civilian ownership of AR-15-style rifles should be restricted.
—
Guns
Ghost guns and unfinished firearm components should be regulated as firearms under federal law.
—
Healthcare
The government should provide healthcare for everyone.
—
Healthcare
Medicare should be allowed to negotiate lower prescription drug prices.
—
Healthcare
A government-run public health insurance option should be added to the ACA marketplace.
—
Healthcare
Federal enforcement of mental-health insurance parity (equal coverage to medical care) should be strengthened.
—
Infrastructure
Federal funding to replace lead water pipes nationwide should be expanded.
—
Labor
Federal labor law should make it easier for workers to form unions (PRO Act-style reforms).
—
Governance & Other
Outside political spending — from PACs and super PACs — should be limited more strictly.
—

SupportsOpposesNo public positionRinged = confirmed by the campaign

About this race page

Candidate roster is sourced from the FEC's active-candidate list for the 2026 cycle. Fundraising totals reflect committee filings through the last reporting period.

Alignment % compares the candidate's extracted policy positions against your quiz answers. Positions are pulled from the candidate's campaign issues page by AI; we save the source quote for each position so you can verify the extraction. Candidates without a campaign issues page show position data pending — we're working through the roster and re-checking stale extractions every 90 days.

News coverage is from the GDELT 2.0 global news feed, filtered to a curated list of national, political, and regional outlets.