House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) got a little breathing room Tuesday night after Republican Michael Rulli won a special election to replace retiring Rep. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio).
According to the Ohio Capital Journal, Rulli is a senator from Ohio and a small business owner who describes himself as a “natural gas mogul.”
His family founded and operated the Youngstown-based grocery store Lurie Brothers Markets, according to his campaign website, and he also served as superintendent of the Leetonia School District in northern Ohio.
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Ohio Sen. Michael Rulli (left) faces off against Air Force veteran Michael Krypczak (right) in the special election for Ohio’s 6th Congressional District. (Getty Images/@KripchakOH via X)
Lurie’s website also lists his “priorities for Ohio families,” including “energy independence,” “the right to bear arms” and “election integrity.”
Local officials in Ohio were the favorites to win the state’s deep-red 6th Congressional District, which former President Trump won by more than 40 points in 2020.
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Rulli’s victory gives Speaker Mike Johnson a little more room to expand his slim majority. (Getty Images)
If he wins and is sworn in, House Republicans will have a total of 219 members, meaning GOP leaders can afford to lose three votes on measures along party lines, slightly better than the two-seat majority they’ve held for weeks.
Once sworn in, Rulli will serve out the remainder of former Congressman Johnson’s term, which runs until November.
Johnson announced that he will step down from Congress in November 2023 to become president of Youngstown State University.
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Former Congressman Bill Johnson resigned from Congress to become president of Youngstown State University. (Getty)
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“After much thought, prayer and deliberation, I have decided to accept the offer from the president of Youngstown State University and not run for an eighth term in Congress,” Johnson wrote on X. “As I have stated previously, I have not been looking for another job, as I love my job serving the people of Eastern Ohio as a U.S. Representative. This was an extremely difficult decision.”
He resigned in late January, just weeks after former Chairman Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) resigned.
