Michael Rulli and Dave Joyce, the two Republican U.S. House members who represent the Mahoning Valley, started off the first three months of the year growing their campaign accounts in preparation for reelection bids in 2026.

Joyce, of Bainbridge, whose district includes all of Trumbull County, received $263,185 in campaign contributions during the first quarter with $160,891 coming from political-action committees. Among PACs giving Joyce the $5,000 maximum contribution was the one representing Blue Origin, a company that recently sent a brief pilotless rocket into space with an all-female crew, including wealthy celebrities. The company is owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos.

Rulli, of Salem, whose district includes all of Mahoning County, received $135,829 in contributions between January and March with $90,050 coming from PACs. Among his individual donors was Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a close advisor to President Donald Trump, who gave a $6,600 maximum contribution to Rulli, who has served 10 months in Congress.

Democrat Michael L. Kripchak of Youngstown, who lost to Rulli in the November election by 33.4%, didn’t raise or spend any money in the first quarter. Kripchak had $6,111 in his congressional fund as of March 31. Kripchak said he plans to again run against Rulli in 2026 for the 6th Congressional District seat.

Joyce is serving his seventh two-year term representing the 14th Congressional District.

Joyce collected $263,185 in the first quarter while spending $71,073.

With money carried over from previous campaigns, Joyce had $2,934,987 in his fund as of March 31.

Of the money Joyce raised in the first quarter, $160,891 came from PACs, $91,852 from individual donors and he made $10,442 in interest.

Joyce received $5,000 maximum contributions in the quarter from 16 PACs.

In addition to Blue Origin, he received maximum funding from PACs representing the American Academy of Dermatology; American Association of Nurse Anesthesiologists; American Association of Nurse Practitioners; American Nurses Association; General Dynamics Corp.; Humane Society; Materion Corp.; MGM Resorts International; National Association of Landscape Professionals; NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots; National Association of Stone, Sand and Gravel; Parsons Corp.; Science Applications International Corp.; Steris Corp.; and T-Mobile.

Joyce’s wife, Kelly, is a nurse and he is co-chairman of the Congressional Nursing Caucus.

Among Joyce’s largest expenses in the quarter were $14,637 to Fifth Third Bank for credit card payments, $9,400 to the Chagrin Valley Athletic Club in Chagrin Falls for food and beverages for a fundraiser, and $4,500 to NK Baur and Associates of Dublin, Ohio, for compliance reporting.

Joyce also paid $3,759 to the Congressional Institute in Alexandria, Virginia, best known for hosting an annual retreat for Republican House members and staff, and $3,000 in dues to the Congressional Club Museum and Foundation in Washington, D.C., the official club of congressional spouses.

Joyce’s district is considered safe for Republicans. It includes all of Trumbull, Ashtabula, Lake and Geauga counties and all but two communities in Portage County. Trumbull is the district’s second most-populous county behind Lake.

Democrat Bill O’Neill of Chagrin Falls, a former Ohio Supreme Court justice and ex-11th District Court of Appeals judge, said he is going to run for Joyce’s seat next year. He said he doesn’t plan to accept any campaign contributions.

Also, Republican Mark Zetzer of Russell, who withdrew from the 2024 GOP primary for the congressional seat, said he is giving strong consideration to challenging Joyce in the 2026 primary.

While Joyce, a seven-term incumbent, is approaching $3 million in his campaign fund, Rulli, who was elected in a special June election to the 6th Congressional District seat and then won a full two-year term in November, has a considerably smaller surplus.

Rulli raised $135,829 in the first quarter and spent $88,910. Including money he carried over from the 2024 campaign, Rulli had $117,555 in his fund as of March 31.

Rulli received $90,050 from PACs, $43,729 from individual donors, transferred $1,750 from a PAC he created and got a $300 refund from a rental car company.

The PAC is the Rulli Victory Fund, created by Rulli’s campaign committee and the Ohio Valley Leadership PAC, which the congressman also controls.

Rulli received $5,000 maximum contributions from two PACs: one represents Home Depot and the other from Alkerme Inc., a polymer company.

Musk’s $6,600 contribution is 15% of all of the money Rulli received from individual donors in the first quarter.

Rulli’s largest expenses in the quarter were $28,179 to the Paroska Group Inc. of Cleveland and $10,840 to Grand Valley Consulting of Washington, D.C. Both were for fundraising consulting.

Rulli’s district is considered safe for Republicans. It includes all of Mahoning, Columbiana, Carroll, Jefferson, Belmont, Harrison, Monroe, Noble and Washington counties and portions of Stark and Tuscarawas counties. Mahoning is the district’s most-populous county.

Republican state officials will redraw the congressional district lines this year for the 2026 election though few changes are expected for the 6th and 14th Districts.