State Sen. Bob Gibbs will be the GOP candidate for the 18th Congressional District.
According to the Columbus Dispatch, a recount has confirmed the May 4 election results showing Gibbs edging Fred Dailey among a field of eight candidates. Because the 164-vote margin was so small, the race was subject to an automatic recount.
Dailey was the most prominent of the 18th District's GOP candidates running on the tea party platform. Gibbs had the backing of the state Republican Party for the district that starts in Tuscarawas County and extends east, west and south.
Gibbs will be running against incumbent U.S. Rep. Zack Space this fall. Space is a Democrat who first won the meandering district in 2006. Before that, it had been held by Republicans, including Rob Ney, who was sent to prison.