State Sen. Theresa Gavarone filed Monday to challenge U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur for the 9th Congressional District.
Gavarone, a Republican, does not live in the 9th District. She has consistently used Bowling Green as her home address, but on Monday, she filed for the congressional seat using an address in Huron, which is in the 9th District.
Gavarone said she plans on making a formal announcement of her plans on Tuesday morning.
Kaptur, a Democrat who was first elected to Congress in 1983, is the longest serving woman in Congress. The 9th District currently stretches from Kaptur’s hometown of Toledo to Cleveland. It has been called the “snake on the lake” because of the district’s odd shape created by gerrymandering.
The new 9th District map signed on Nov. 20 by Gov. Mike DeWine combines Lucas, Ottawa, Erie, Defiance, Henry, Fulton, Sandusky, and Williams counties, along with a portion of northern Wood County.
Gavarone had a role in creating the new congressional maps, serving as co-chairman of the Local Government and Elections Committee. She approved the map in committee and again when it came to the Senate floor.
Gavarone began her political career as a Bowling Green City Council member. She was appointed to the state representative seat for Wood County in 2016. She was later appointed to the state senate district held by Randy Gardner when he was named state chancellor of higher education by DeWine.
Gavarone earned her business degree from Bowling Green State University before obtaining a law degree from the University of Toledo. She and her husband, Jim, own Mister Spots restaurant in Bowling Green.
