Republican Steve Chabot wins reelection in Ohio

Longtime Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) prevailed over Democratic challenger Aftab Pureval on Tuesday after a vicious campaign that had both candidates hobbling to the finish line.

Chabot, the Small Business Committee chairman, had come under fire for paying his son-in-law $177,000 for campaign work and for refusing to denounce a GOP super PAC ad tying Pureval to Libyan dictator Muammar Qaddafi.

{mosads} Pureval, the Hamilton County clerk of courts, has been facing questions about a campaign-finance scandal and allegations that he had a former intern infiltrate and spy on the Chabot campaign.

In reelecting Chabot, voters in Ohio’s 1st district decided they would stick with the politician they know. Chabot, 65, a former Cincinnati city councilman and Hamilton County commissioner, has served in Congress since the mid-1990s.

Pureval, 36, the son of Indian and Tibetan immigrants, first won local office in Hamilton County in 2016.

After winning another term, Chabot now has his eye on becoming the top Republican on the powerful Judiciary Committee.

He has argued that his past experience as a House prosecutor during the impeachment proceedings of President Bill Clinton would help him in leading the Judiciary panel.