Dayton's 10th Congressional District is drawing an advertising volume that has typically accompanied competitive races rather than the lopsided contests Rep. Mike Turner has won, according to Signal Cleveland.
Medium Buying, a Columbus firm that tracks Republican political advertising, said groups had booked or spent $6.5 million on Dayton radio and television stations in the 10th District race. Democrats and their allies account for $4.32 million of that total, with roughly half the Democratic money coming from a PAC with close ties to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the remainder from a liberal dark-money network. Republican spending totals $2.25 million, nearly all of it from two PACs linked to President Donald Trump and MAGA Inc., by the same accounting.
Turner, a longtime Republican incumbent, won by 19 percentage points in 2024 even as Trump carried the district by about 6. Democratic strategist Michael McGovern, who leads the Innovation Ohio PAC, which has spent $250,000 on ads opposing Turner, cited challenger Kristina Knickerbocker's service as an Air Force nurse and a poll finding 60% disapproval of Trump's job performance in the Dayton/Cincinnati area. Montgomery County Republican Party chair Phil Plummer characterized the Democratic push as a test of the incumbent's strength and said he has seen many commercials.
Turner's statement described Knickerbocker as propped up by out-of-state PAC money and as backing what he called a complete government takeover of health care. The outlet notes she has voiced support for a single-payer insurance system and also for a public option.