'A disqualifier for anybody': GOP scrambling to find new candidate for swing district after scandal

15 December 2023

A swing Ohio House district Republicans were counting on winning to maintain their majority in the House of Representatives next year just became even more competitive.

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), who has represented her Toledo-area district since 1983, will face a steep reelection campaign in 2024 after the Republican-controlled Ohio legislature carved up her district in the wake of the 2020 Census. In 2022 she faced off against Air Force vetera JR Majewski, who ended up losing after it was discovered he lied about serving in Afghanistan (he actually served in Qatar, which the AP said was "a safe distance from the fighting"). After news of the scandal broke, Kaptur easily won reelection by 13 points.

In 2024, the GOP primary will be between Majewski and former GOP state lawmaker Craig Riedel. However, Politico reports that Riedel's candidacy is also in danger due to comments surfacing in which he denigrated former President Donald Trump. This has led Ohio Republicans to discuss "a possible new candidate on the agenda," according to an unnamed Republican source.

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According to Politico, Majewski winning the primary wasn't a concern given Riedel's strong fundraising. However, Riedel's political future is now uncertain after far-right influencer Charlie Kirk tweeted an audio recording last week of comments Riedel made about Trump.

"I think he is arrogant. I don’t like the way he calls people names. I just don’t think that’s very becoming of a president," Riedel said i the recording.

Kirk's tweet, which has been viewed more than 230,000 times since December 8, accused Riedel of "bad-mouthing President Trump while simultaneously showcasing endorsements on his website from some of Trump's biggest supporters including Jim Jordan and Elise Stefanik." He then endorsed Majewski's primary bid.

"A lot of people wonder why Republicans betray their voters when they go to DC. It's because many of them are two-faced, lying snakes like Craig Riedel," Kirk tweeted.

With the MAGA wing of the GOP throwing their weight behind Majewski, Republicans now worry that the stolen valor allegations against the 2022 nominee could foil their efforts to oust Kaptur next year.

"Unless [Majewski]'s found somebody that knows he was in Afghanistan, and he can have some proof that he was in Afghanistan, I don’t know how he overcomes that issue," Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) told Politico. "It’s a disqualifier for anybody that does it. I’m not saying he did. But so far, last I heard, he didn’t have a good answer."

Republicans' razor-thin majority was thrown further into question after the expulsion of former Rep. George Santos (R-New York) and the exit of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California). With the New York Supreme Court ordering the state's independent redistricting commission to submit new Congressional maps ahead of the 2024 election, swing districts like Kaptur's will be essential for the GOP in their efforts to maintain the speaker's gavel in 2025.

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