Ohio's 3rd congressional district is located entirely in Franklin County and includes most of the city of

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

. The current district lines were drawn in 2011, following the

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral distri ...

based on the 2010 census. It is currently represented by Democrat

Joyce Beatty Joyce Marie Beatty (; née Birdsong, March 12, 1950) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Ohio's 3rd congressional district since 2013, and as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus since 2021. A member of the Democ ...

. It was one of several districts challenged in a 2018 lawsuit seeking to overturn Ohio's congressional map due to alleged unconstitutional

gerrymandering In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...

.Todd Ruger,
Voters Challenge Ohio Congressional Map as Partisan Gerrymander"
''Roll Call,'' May 23, 2018. Retrieved 7 August 2018. According to the lawsuit, the 3rd was "shaped like a snowflake" that was designed to "fracture" Columbus. The plaintiffs focused on the 3rd in part because the district is barely contiguous. In some portions, it is almost, but not quite, split in two by the neighboring 12th and 15th districts which split the rest of Columbus between them. The map, drawn in private by Republican lawmakers in a Columbus hotel room, drew most of the heavily Democratic portions of Columbus into the 3rd, with much of the rest of Columbus split into the more Republican 12th and 15th districts. An alternative plan was to split Columbus between four districts, creating 13 safe Republican seats. In May 2019, the U.S. District Court in Cincinnati deemed the map unconstitutional, as intentionally drawn to keep Republicans in power and disenfranchise Democratic voters. The U.S. Supreme Court discarded the district court ruling in October 2019. In 2018, Ohio voters approved a ballot measure known as Issue 1, which grants the minority party oversight on redistricting, requiring 50 percent minority party approval for district maps. The process will only take place after the 2020 census and presidential election. For most of the time from 1887 to 2003, the 3rd was a

Dayton Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...

-based district; much of that territory is now the 10th district.

Election results from presidential races

List of members representing the district

Recent election results

The following chart shows historic election results. Bold type indicates victor. ''Italic type'' indicates incumbent.

1951 special election

*In 1951, after Breen's resignation for ill health, Schenck was elected in a special election to complete Breen's term.

2002

In 2002, when then-U.S. Rep. Tony P. Hall decided to accept an appointment as a U.N. ambassador, Richard Alan Carne took his place as the Democratic nominee for the congressional seat. Carne lost the race to former Dayton mayor Michael R. Turner.

2006 election

On August 13, 2006, Democratic candidate Stephanie Studebaker— who was the party's nominee to run against the incumbent Republican— was arrested, alongside her husband, on charges of

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partn ...

. Two days later, she withdrew from the race, leaving the Ohio Democratic Party without a candidate in the district. A Special primary election to select a new Democratic candidate was held on 15 September 2006. Richard Chema won that election with nearly 75% of the vote, but lost to Republican Michael R. Turner in the general election.

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

2022

Historical district boundaries

Notes

References

* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ohio's 3rd Congressional District 03 Constituencies established in 1813 1813 establishments in Ohio