Ohio 10th District Voter Guide: Turner, Knickerbocker and McMasters on Costs and Immigration
Three candidates are on the Nov. 3 ballot in Ohio's 10th Congressional District: Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Turner of Dayton, who is seeking a 13th term, Democrat Kristina Knickerbocker, a nurse practitioner and Air Force veteran, and Libertarian Thomas McMasters, a former Huber Heights mayor. The Digital Free Press voter guide video compares where they stand on the cost of living and immigration.
Under Ohio's new congressional map, the district keeps all of Montgomery and Greene counties and adds the northeastern corner of Butler County, including Middletown and Trenton, the Dayton Daily News reported. Turner won re-election in 2024 with about 58 percent of the vote.
Why Costs and Immigration Are Issues in Ohio's 10th District
The Cook Political Report rates the race Lean Republican in its Oct. 23, 2026 ratings. The raters disagree: Wikipedia's ratings table lists Sabato's Crystal Ball at Likely Republican (as of Sept. 16, 2026) and Inside Elections at Solid Republican (as of Oct. 31, 2025, an older rating).
Every public poll The Digital Free Press found was paid for by Democrats. An internal DCCC poll, taken Oct. 12-13 among 535 likely voters, showed Knickerbocker at 47 percent and Turner at 44 percent, according to a DCCC memo; Wikipedia's polling table lists McMasters at 4 percent in that poll. Two Democratic polls from July, by FM3 Research and by Global Strategy Group for Knickerbocker's campaign, showed Turner ahead by 7 and 5 points, according to Wikipedia's polling table. Partisan polls should be read with caution.
On the cost of living, the TDFP video says Turner "supports an all-of-the-above approach to domestic energy" and wants "fewer restrictions on American production and more natural gas exports." It says Knickerbocker "wants tax cuts for working families, fewer tariffs, more affordable housing, and capped childcare costs," and that "large corporations should pay for data center infrastructure instead of passing costs to households." It says McMasters "puts utility and energy costs first" and says "Ohio should make better use of green energy technology while recognizing that fossil fuel power will remain part of the system."
On immigration, the video says Turner "backs stronger border security and opposes amnesty for people who enter illegally," and that "his stated platform also calls for protecting legal immigrants' rights." It says Knickerbocker believes Congress should let law-abiding Haitian immigrants with Temporary Protected Status apply for citizenship, and that McMasters "opposes policies encouraging large-scale permanent immigration, but also opposes inhumane treatment of people already here."
Mike Turner (Republican, Incumbent)
Turner, 66, was mayor of Dayton from 1994 to 2002 and has served in Congress since 2003, the Dayton Daily News reported. He told the paper he is running on a record of defending and growing Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and protecting economic development: "You can drive through this community and see real ways I've been able to impact the community." The paper noted he has broken with his party on Russia, on strikes against suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and on federal pension cuts that he forced out of the 2025 domestic policy bill.
On energy and costs, Turner's House website says he "has long supported an all-of-the-above approach to domestic energy production" and "continues to work towards lifting unreasonable restrictions on American energy production." It says increasing U.S. natural gas exports can "reduce the trade deficit and boost job growth right here at home."
On immigration, Turner's House website says: "Securing our borders and stopping illegal immigration is a matter of national security. We need immigration reform that provides no amnesty for those who have entered our country illegally." It calls for reform that "protects the rights of legal immigrants while not unfairly rewarding those who came here unlawfully." Turner was one of a few Republicans who voted for a House bill to extend Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, the Dayton Daily News reported, and he said of Springfield's Haitian residents: "Of those that are working and contributing to society, I think certainly that they should be looked upon differently." The League of Women Voters of the Greater Dayton Area's 2026 voters guide lists no answers from Turner to its questionnaire.
Kristina Knickerbocker (Democrat)
Knickerbocker, 35, is a neuro-oncology nurse practitioner who served nearly a decade at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in the active-duty Air Force and the Reserve, the Dayton Daily News reported. She won a six-candidate Democratic primary in May and said she decided to run after the 2025 domestic policy bill was signed into law.
On costs, Knickerbocker's campaign site says: "I'll cut taxes for working families, repeal harmful tariffs that raise prices, build more affordable housing, cap childcare costs, support eldercare, and lower energy bills by making big corporations—not Ohio families—pay for data center infrastructure." In the League of Women Voters guide, she also called for a moratorium on data centers and for reinstating the Affordable Care Act's enhanced premium tax credits.
On immigration, Knickerbocker told the Dayton Daily News: "Congress must act to allow law-abiding TPS holders to apply for citizenship. These immigrants who work, pay taxes, and create businesses are an essential part of our community and economic growth." In the League of Women Voters guide, she wrote, "I believe in balancing border security with humanitarian policies," and called for modernizing technology at ports of entry, "pathways to citizenship for long-term residents/DREAMers," and prioritizing "targeting criminals and drug/human trafficking."
Thomas McMasters (Libertarian)
McMasters, 64, of Huber Heights, is a retired Air Force officer and former Army Reserve drill instructor who served as mayor of Huber Heights and works as a test manager, the Dayton Daily News reported. He has run for this seat before, in a Republican primary in 2010, a Democratic primary in 2012 and as an independent in 2016, and calls himself a "no-party advocate." He told the paper one reason he is running is that Congress should pass annual budgets on time instead of relying on continuing resolutions.
On costs, McMasters wrote in the League of Women Voters guide: "I am most concerned about the increase in utility and energy costs." He said Texas "has been a leader in adopting green energy technologies" while "Ohio has lagged in this area," and added: "We aren't going to get rid of fossil fuel-based power, but we can't be antagonist to green energy either."
On immigration, McMasters wrote: "I am not interested in an immigration policy that promotes large numbers of people permanently settling in the United States nor am I interested in a policy that inhumanely treats those that are here." He also wrote: "We don't need ICE going to swearing in ceremonies to deport people that have legitimately made it that far into the citizenship process."
Where to Follow the Candidates
Mike Turner: @MikeTurnerOH on X (campaign) and @RepMikeTurner (official). Kristina Knickerbocker: @KnickerbockerOH on X. Thomas McMasters: @MayorMcMasters on X.
Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Ohio voters can check their registration and district at voteohio.gov. This guide is for information only; The Digital Free Press does not endorse any candidate.
Yossi Schmidt, Founder and Editor-in-Chief, The Digital Free Press
Hold Everyone Accountable.
Sources: Dayton Daily News, who's on the ballot: https://www.daytondailynews.com/tncms/asset/editorial/fcf16566-d216-57f7-a82e-6f47f5aa616d ; Dayton Daily News, candidates on TPS: https://www.daytondailynews.com/tncms/asset/editorial/7c604aec-8dd8-59c8-8a11-7f09130ef0c8 ; League of Women Voters of the Greater Dayton Area, 2026 Voters Guide (Xenia Daily Gazette edition): https://www.xeniagazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/XDGVotersGuide2026_eEdition.pdf ; Cook Political Report, House ratings (Oct. 23, 2026): https://www.cookpolitical.com/ratings/house-race-ratings ; Wikipedia, 2026 U.S. House elections in Ohio: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections_in_Ohio ; DCCC polling memo (Oct. 20, 2026): https://dccc.org/dccc-polling-memo-knickerbocker-leads-turner-by-3-in-oh-10/ ; Rep. Turner, energy: https://turner.house.gov/issues/energy ; Rep. Turner, immigration: https://turner.house.gov/issues/immigration ; Knickerbocker for Congress, priorities: https://kristinaknickerbocker.com/my-priorities/ ; Ohio Secretary of State: https://www.voteohio.gov/
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