U.S. House, Ohio 13th Congressional District · Election November 3, 2026 · Updated
Who should I vote for in Ohio's 13th Congressional District?
Emilia Sykes has the strongest record in Ohio's 13th Congressional District. Emilia Sykes scores 68 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, as of October 9, 2026. Emilia Sykes's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Carey Coleman (5 of 15 criteria) and Sandeep Dixit (5 of 15 criteria) have too little public record to score. Every score comes from public records on character, qualifications and performance, the same way for every party.
Republican
Carey Coleman
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 5 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 50
- Qualifications
- 50
- Performance
- NR
Independent
Sandeep Dixit
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 5 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 50
- Qualifications
- 50
- Performance
- NR
Democratic · incumbent
Strongest record
Emilia Sykes
68 / 100
Public evidence on 14 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 60
- Qualifications
- 80
- Performance
- 63
The good, the bad and the unresolved
The record
The notable facts of each candidate's public life, each tied to a source and confirmed to be this person. Unresolved matters are labeled with where they stand and do not move a score.
Carey Coleman
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
Sandeep Dixit
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
Emilia Sykes
- On the record2025-01-22
Voted Yea on final passage of the Laken Riley Act (S. 5) in January 2025; Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries voted Nay.
Source: House Clerk Roll Call 23, 2025
- On the record2019-01-28
Elected leader of the Ohio House Democratic caucus in January 2019 and served as minority leader through 2021.
- On the record2018
Filed an Ohio Civil Rights Commission complaint in 2018 alleging biased screening by Statehouse security; a State Highway Patrol review found she was screened because her badge was inactive.
Sources: Ideastream Public Media, July 1, 2018, WOSU, Aug. 6, 2018
- Credit2024-09-26
Sponsored H.R. 9742, extending Department of Veterans Affairs expiring authorities; its provisions were enacted in the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025, signed Sept. 26, 2024.
- Credit2018-04
As an Ohio House member she was a joint sponsor, with Republican Rep. Nathan Manning, of the dating violence protection order bill that Gov. John Kasich signed into law in 2018.
Sources: Ideastream (Statehouse News Bureau), April 5, 2018, WOSU, March 1, 2017
Who they are
Character
Integrity
Tells the truth, keeps their word, and takes no private gain from public office.
Carey Coleman. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through June 30, 2026, and a House candidate financial disclosure was filed May 19, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, House Clerk candidate financial disclosure, Filing ID 10079766, FEC administrative fines search
Sandeep Dixit. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through Sept. 30, 2026, and a House candidate financial disclosure was filed Sept. 2, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, House Clerk candidate financial disclosure, Filing ID 10082766, FEC administrative fines search
Emilia Sykes. Annual financial disclosure for 2025 filed with the House Clerk Aug. 11, 2026. No House Ethics Committee matter or FEC administrative fine found; no periodic transaction reports in the Clerk index for 2023 to 2026.
Sources: House Clerk financial disclosure, Filing ID 10076112, House Committee on Ethics site search for Sykes, FEC administrative fines search
Courage
Takes a stand that costs them something, including telling their own side no.
Carey Coleman. No public record found.
Sandeep Dixit. No public record found.
Emilia Sykes. Voted for the Laken Riley Act in March 2024 and again in January 2025 when Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries voted no; a 2023 to 2026 roll call scan found 49 splits from her party's leaders.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 66, 2024, House Clerk Roll Call 23, 2025
Accountability
Owns mistakes, answers hard questions, and works in the open.
Carey Coleman. No public record found.
Sandeep Dixit. No public record found.
Emilia Sykes. Held open in-person town halls in Akron, Fairlawn and Canton in 2025 and Twinsburg in February 2026, per her office calendar; the Ohio Capital Journal covered the Canton event. No 2026 debate record found.
Sources: House office site, Events, Ohio Capital Journal via Yahoo News, Aug. 2025
Temperament and judgment
Steady under pressure, decides on evidence, and treats opponents and staff with respect.
Carey Coleman. No public record found.
Sandeep Dixit. No public record found.
Emilia Sykes. Eight years in the Ohio House including three as minority leader, and in Congress since 2023. No censure, reprimand or House Ethics Committee matter found.
Sources: House office site, Biography, House Committee on Ethics site search for Sykes
Fidelity to the oath
Uses power inside its limits: accepts certified results, obeys court rulings, follows the rules of the office.
Carey Coleman. No public record found.
Sandeep Dixit. No public record found.
Emilia Sykes. Has held sworn state and federal office since 2015. Took her House seat in January 2023, after the 2021 electoral count. No misuse-of-office finding found.
Sources: House office site, Biography, GovTrack, Emilia Sykes
What they bring
Qualifications
Relevant experience
Has done work that prepares them for this specific office.
Carey Coleman. Longtime Northeast Ohio radio host on WNIR and, for decades, a television meteorologist. Has not held public office.
Sandeep Dixit. Mechanical engineer since 1989 and software architect, with about two decades in technology and business. Has not held public office.
Source: Ballotpedia, Sandeep Dixit
Emilia Sykes. In the U.S. House since January 2023 and seeking a third term; served eight years in the Ohio House, three as Democratic minority leader.
Sources: House office site, Biography, GovTrack, Emilia Sykes
Command of the job
Knows the issues and knows what the office can and cannot do.
Carey Coleman. Publishes an issues page on costs, public safety, jobs and other topics, mostly in general terms.
Source: Campaign site, Issues
Sandeep Dixit. Lists three priorities with specific proposals, including $500 million per district for vocational training and a basic health care guarantee.
Source: Ballotpedia, Sandeep Dixit
Emilia Sykes. Ranking member of the Science Committee's Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee and vice ranking member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Publishes key issue pages.
Sources: GovTrack, committee membership, House office site, Biography
Communication
Explains plainly, persuades, and listens.
Carey Coleman. Publishes a plain-language issues page. Has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 survey.
Sandeep Dixit. Completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026 and publishes plan pages on his campaign site.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Sandeep Dixit, Campaign site, home page
Emilia Sykes. Offers a newsletter, publishes issue pages and holds district events such as Congress in our Community. Has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 survey.
Sources: House office site, home page, House office site, Key Issues, Ballotpedia, Emilia Sykes
Roots in the constituency
Lives there, knows the people, and is funded by them.
Carey Coleman. No public record found.
Sandeep Dixit. No public record found.
Emilia Sykes. Represented Akron in the Ohio House for eight years, following her parents in the seat. FEC by-state totals for 2025 to 2026 show about 35 percent of itemized individual contributions from Ohio.
Sources: Roll Call, Aug. 1, 2024, Statehouse News Bureau, Jan. 28, 2019, FEC contribution totals by state
Management
Can build and run an organization.
Carey Coleman. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through June 30, 2026. No FEC administrative fine record found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search
Sandeep Dixit. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through Sept. 30, 2026. No FEC administrative fine record found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search
Emilia Sykes. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through June 30, 2026. No FEC administrative fine record found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search
What they deliver
Performance
Results
Turns ideas into outcomes.
Carey Coleman. No public record found.
Sandeep Dixit. No public record found.
Emilia Sykes. Legislative Effectiveness Score of 0.296 in the 118th Congress against a benchmark of 0.522, meets expectations. Her VA expiring authorities extension bill was enacted in the September 2024 continuing resolution.
Sources: Center for Effective Lawmaking House dataset, 93rd to 118th Congress, GovTrack, H.R. 9742 (118th Congress)
Showing up
Does the basic work of the job.
Carey Coleman. No public record found.
Sandeep Dixit. No public record found.
Emilia Sykes. Missed 56 of 1,917 roll call votes, 2.9 percent, from January 2023 to September 2026.
Source: GovTrack, missed votes
Constituent service
Solves problems for the people they represent.
Carey Coleman. No public record found.
Sandeep Dixit. No public record found.
Emilia Sykes. Runs district offices in Akron and Canton and reports 3,537 constituent cases closed.
Sources: House office site, Office Locations, House office site, home page
Coalition building
Wins support beyond their own faction.
Carey Coleman. No public record found.
Sandeep Dixit. No public record found.
Emilia Sykes. Lugar Center Bipartisan Index score of -0.62004 in the latest posted House scores (2023), ranked 245 of 436, a negative score above the bottom quarter.
Source: Lugar Center and McCourt School Bipartisan Index, House Scores
Stewardship of public money
Treats tax dollars as someone else's money.
Carey Coleman. No public record found.
Sandeep Dixit. No public record found.
Emilia Sykes. No public record found.
How to read this
Each criterion is scored 0 to 4 against the written rubric in the Ballot Standard. NR means no record: there is no reliable public evidence either way, so the criterion is left out and never counts against the candidate. A total is published when at least 8 of 15 criteria have evidence.
A sitting officeholder has a longer public record than a first-time candidate, so the two totals rest on different amounts of evidence. Read the count of criteria beside each score. Low marks require an official finding or a primary record. Allegations and opinion are not used.
No policy position is scored. Evidence checked October 9, 2026. Campaigns and readers can send a correction with a public source to tpg@thepoliticalgroup.com.
Questions
Who should I vote for in Ohio's 13th Congressional District?
Emilia Sykes has the strongest record in Ohio's 13th Congressional District. Emilia Sykes scores 68 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, as of October 9, 2026. Emilia Sykes's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Carey Coleman (5 of 15 criteria) and Sandeep Dixit (5 of 15 criteria) have too little public record to score. Every score comes from public records on character, qualifications and performance, the same way for every party.
Who is running in Ohio's 13th Congressional District in 2026?
Carey Coleman (Republican), Sandeep Dixit (Independent), Emilia Sykes (Democratic, incumbent). The general election is November 3, 2026.
Is Carey Coleman a good candidate for Congress?
Carey Coleman has public evidence on 5 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
Is Sandeep Dixit a good candidate for Congress?
Sandeep Dixit has public evidence on 5 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
Is Emilia Sykes a good candidate for Congress?
Emilia Sykes scores 68 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, with public evidence on 14 of 15 criteria: character 60 of 100, qualifications 80 of 100, performance 63 of 100. The standard measures character, qualifications and performance, not policy positions.
How is the strongest record decided?
The candidate with the highest Ballot Standard score has the strongest record. Each of 15 criteria on character, qualifications and performance is scored 0 to 4 from public records and established reporting, the same way for every party. No policy position is scored, and unresolved accusations never move a score.
More on this race: every Ohio race scored, the trailing candidate's path to victory, and the Ohio 2026 election guide. Independent scorecard by The Political Group, not affiliated with any candidate or party.