WHEELING — Voters in eastern Ohio and northern West Virginia chose Tuesday to stay the course by sending U.S. Reps. Bill Johnson and David B. McKinley back to Washington for another two years.

Johnson, R-Ohio, handily beat his Democratic challenger, Belpre Mayor Mike Lorentz, 209,177 votes to 86,938. McKinley, R-W.Va., defeated Democratic challenger Mike Manypenny 162,289 votes to 73,025, with 97 percent of precincts reporting.

Johnson, of Marietta, entered the U.S. Air Force in 1973 and retired after 26 years of service. From 2006 to 2010, Johnson served as chief information officer of a global manufacturer of engineered electronic components for the transportation industry.

First elected to the House in 2010, Johnson is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Budget Committee.

Both Johnson and Lorentz said in recent interviews that they oppose trade deals such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership that opponents say will cost American jobs.

“We need trade that will empower the American workers and will give them a competitive landscape with which to work in the global economy,” Johnson said.  “Do we need trade? Absolutely, we need trade. But we need fair trade.”

A Wheeling resident, McKinley represented Ohio County in the West Virginia House of Delegates from 1981-94, ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1996 and served as chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party from 1990-94.

As a member of Congress, McKinley has been an outspoken opponent of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its emissions regulations that he says are threatening the state’s economy.

“The federal government stepped up — and they encouraged  the state government to step up — to regulate , to go around Congress, to go around the State Legislature, and do by regulation what they couldn’t do by legislation,” McKinley said during an appearance at a recent GOP rally in Wheeling. “We went from seventh-best to 42nd-best — all because of regulation. That’s why it’s so important to have this team in place that are not going to be promulgating or crippling our job market.”