5 months ago
WASHINGTON - When Republican mapmakers successful Columbus redrew Ohio’s legislature districts this October, they did their champion to make 1 of nan nation’s astir improbable Democrat-held districts moreover harder for its longtime officeholder to retain.
U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, nan 79-year-old Toledo Democrat who has represented northwest Ohio for much than 4 decades, started nan twelvemonth successful a territory that Donald Trump carried by 6.5 points successful 2024.
A representation unanimously approved by Ohio’s bipartisan Redistricting Commission connected Oct. 31 put her 9th legislature territory into territory that backed Trump by 10.5 points - making it 1 of nan astir Republican-leaning seats held by immoderate Democrat successful nan country.
The caller representation represents nan latest GOP effort to oust Kaptur done redistricting. But moreover aft GOP mapmakers forced her into a demographically Republican territory pursuing nan 2020 Census, she won 2 successive elections successful dispute terrain.
Through it all, she’s remained focused connected representing her district. She expressed vexation by what she sees arsenic nan frivolous quality of repeated redistricting efforts.
The group who drew nan maps “don’t attraction astir nan group and nan needs of nan area,” and are “drawing nan territory for themselves, not for nan group that unrecorded successful nan region,” she said.
“They deliberation it’s a game. ... They conscionable move lines, but they don’t recognize really agelong it takes to do thing of merit successful these places,” she said. “You don’t study a territory successful a year. It takes clip for group to pass pinch you and for you to get a clear consciousness of really to help.”
Last year, Kaptur was 1 of conscionable 13 Democratic Congress members successful nan federation who carried districts won by Trump.
“We ran connected our grounds of results for nan region that I represent,” Kaptur said.
Now, pinch a section of 5 Republicans already filing paperwork to situation her successful 2026 - including nan Republican who came adjacent to beating her successful 2024, erstwhile authorities legislator Derek Merrin, nan National Republican Congressional Committee has declared Kaptur “one of nan astir susceptible Democrats successful America.”
State Senate President Rob McColley, whose location region of Henry was added to nan territory successful nan caller map, is besides wide rumored to beryllium eyeing nan seat, though he has not formally announced.
“Desperate and retired of touch, Democrat Marcy Kaptur is clinging to a grounds of failure,” said a connection from NRCC spokesperson Zach Bannon. “Ohioans are done pinch Kaptur’s extremist circus, nan quiet rhetoric, and nan self-serving politics. Come November, they’ll make judge she is retired of a job.”
Kaptur, however, has heard it each before. And she’s not backing down.
The longest-serving female successful Congress
When Kaptur was sworn into agency successful January 1983, location were astir 2 twelve women successful Congress. “Return of nan Jedi” was nan top-grossing film, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” dominated nan airwaves, and Sally Ride had conscionable go nan first American female successful space.
On January 3, 2023, she made history by becoming nan longest-serving female ever successful Congress, breaking a grounds antecedently held by erstwhile Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland. Kaptur comes from Toledo’s moving people - her begetter was an independent nutrient trucker who became an car worker for wellness insurance, and her mother worked astatine a Champion spark plug mill wherever she helped shape a union.
Over her 42 years successful office, Kaptur has built a formidable record. She wrote nan authorities that established nan World War II Memorial connected nan National Mall and secured much than $1 cardinal to modernize nan Soo Locks, a captious Great Lakes proscription hub. She helped walk $400 cardinal for nan Veterans Glass City Skyway Bridge complete nan Maumee River successful Toledo and directed billions of dollars successful American Rescue Plan backing to Ohio communities during nan COVID-19 pandemic.
Many of her proudest achievements, she notes, took much than a decade to execute - 17 years for nan World War II Memorial, 16 years for nan Veterans Glass City Skyway Bridge.
“Anything of value doesn’t hap overnight, you person to excavation in,” said Kaptur. “It is for illustration doing a sculpture, not a speedy watercolor.”
She says her seniority connected nan House Appropriations Committee, wherever she serves arsenic nan ranking Democrat connected nan Energy and Water Development Subcommittee, gives her leverage to transmission national resources to Ohio. She co-chairs nan Congressional Ukraine Caucus, nan Congressional Poland Caucus, nan House Great Lakes Task Force pinch South Russell GOP Rep. David Joyce, and serves connected nan House Auto Caucus and Steel Caucus.
Losing her seniority successful Congress would matter to each region and organization successful Ohio, she argues.
“If you look astatine nan distribution of committee assignments successful this Congress, location is nary 1 that could switch my position connected committees,” she says.
Gerrymandering Ohio
Kaptur’s expertise to past everything Republicans person thrown astatine her complete nan years made her a apical target successful a nationalist Republican run to bent onto nan party’s slim power complete nan U.S. House of Representatives by redrawing legislature districts each complete nan country.
President Donald Trump has pressured Republican-controlled states including Texas, Missouri and North Carolina to reconfigure their maps mid-decade, marking 1 of nan largest coordinated redistricting attempts betwixt censuses successful modern American history. Democrats countered pinch their ain push to redistrict states they control, for illustration California, though they look structural disadvantages since Republican-controlled legislatures outnumber Democratic ones.
Ohio was already scheduled to redraw its legislature districts successful 2024 because of nan circumstances nether which its erstwhile representation was passed. In summation to targeting Kaptur’s district, nan recently adopted representation makes nan territory represented by Cincinnati Democrat Greg Landsman importantly much Republican.
Ohio’s redistricting scheme was nan consequence of a last-minute woody betwixt Republican and Democratic legislative leaders. Democrats agreed to nan representation to debar an moreover worse scenario: Republicans threatened to walk a party-line representation designed to thief their statement triumph 13 of Ohio’s 15 House seats, up from nan existent 10-5 split. Democrats had considered organizing a statewide referendum to artifact specified a representation but were concerned astir collecting nan astir 250,000 signatures needed during a 90-day wintertime period.
A connection Kaptur posted connected societal media aft nan map’s take said that “gerrymandering diminishes our state’s stature moreover arsenic organization stagnates.”
“While Democrats connected nan Redistricting Commission projected a adjacent representation astatine nan outset of this process, successful 1 statement norm Columbus, self-interested politicians trim broadside deals to pave their ain future,” her connection continued. “Our populist useful champion erstwhile voters take their leaders, not erstwhile politicians take their voters. Let nan Columbus politicians make their self-serving maps and play philharmonic chairs, I will conflict connected for nan group and inquire nan voters for their support adjacent year.”
Republicans began targeting Kaptur successful earnest aft nan 2020 census. In 2021, GOP lawmakers replaced nan comfortably Democratic Lake Erie shoreline territory she’d held for a decade - which stretched from Toledo to Cleveland - pinch a caller configuration that extended to Ohio’s occidental separator and included blimpish agrarian counties.
Despite nan unfavorable map, Kaptur won 56.6% of nan ballot successful 2022 against Trump-backed Republican J.R. Majewski, whose run collapsed aft an Associated Press investigation revealed he had misrepresented his subject service. In 2024, she won 48% of nan vote against Merrin and a Libertarian campaigner contempt Trump winning nan district.
The caller territory abandons areas person to Toledo while expanding into powerfully Republican sections of northwest Ohio. But it does see a important area wherever voters besides backed erstwhile President Barack Obama, suggesting location whitethorn beryllium “ancestral” Democratic DNA that could thief Kaptur, according to a reappraisal by Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a nonpartisan governmental study tract tally by nan University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.
Forecasters astatine Sabato’s Crystal Ball moved their appraisal of Kaptur’s title from “Toss-up” to “Leans Republican” pursuing nan redistricting. But nan analysts noted that “this is not a no-brainer Republican pickup - it’s still a battleground for 2026.”
“A corrupt state”
Kaptur sees nan redistricting arsenic portion of a broader shape of corruption successful Ohio politics, pointing to caller high-profile cases of authorities officials going to national prison. She cited erstwhile Republican Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, who sewage a 20 twelvemonth condemnation for secretly receiving $60 cardinal from Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp to money his governmental operation, successful speech for passing authorities worthy much than $1 cardinal for nan company.
“Ohio has go a corrupt state,” she said. “How galore different authorities legislatures did nan Speaker of nan House spell to national prison? When I look astatine what’s going down successful our legislature, I’m ashamed of my state. Ohioans amended aftermath up.”
She argues that nan redistricting process shows “no respect for nan nationalist aliases for nan communities that are drawn into a district.”
Despite nan challenging map, Kaptur is moving guardant pinch her reelection campaign, and she has a strategy: Focus relentlessly connected what she has delivered for northwest Ohio.
Her transportation to voters successful nan new, much agrarian parts of her territory centers connected cultivation argumentation and economical development. She touts her authorities promoting ethanol and biodiesel production, which she says now represents half of farmers’ income successful a region wherever cultivation exports to China person collapsed owed to tariffs. She’s besides highlighting her activity safeguarding nan Lima vessel works erstwhile nan Army discussed phasing retired Abrams tanks.
“I cognize what I’m going to find,” Kaptur said of nan recently added counties. “I cognize I’m going to find many, galore nationalist useful that person been neglected. I cognize I will find an cultivation organization that is experiencing accrued security rates, wellness security rates and nonaccomplishment of income successful our awesome commodities.”
She’s been holding municipality halls successful nan caller parts of her district, including 1 successful Ottawa, Ohio, successful Putnam County, wherever 40 group turned retired astatine 9 p.m. “They were conscionable truthful excited to person a personnel of Congress,” she recalled.
Kaptur besides emphasizes her activity connected infrastructure improvements passim northwest Ohio. “Every azygous national road I correspond has been improved,” she said, noting that these improvements person attracted caller businesses for illustration a insubstantial products institution successful Defiance that will create 400 jobs - “the largest economical improvement task successful nan history of Defiance.”
Other achievements she cites see securing backing for Great Lakes cleanup initiatives, supporting nan 180th Fighter Wing, helping prevention nan Medical University of Toledo, and building nan Great Lakes History Museum.
“People cognize our work,” she says arsenic she rattles disconnected nan projects. “I conscionable person to punctual them of it.”
2026 challengers
As Kaptur prepares for what could beryllium her toughest reelection conflict yet, nan Republican section is already forming and fundraising. Merrin has raised much than $406,000, while Air National Guard Lt. Col. Alea Nadeem has raised much than $322,000. Other GOP candidates see Ohio Rep. Josh Williams, who has raised much than $265,000, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Wayne Charles Kinsel, who has collected much than $90,000 and businessman Anthony Bruce Campbell, who hasn’t reported immoderate fundraising to nan Federal Election Commission. Kaptur herself has raised much than $1.1 million.
“We came person than immoderate campaigner ever came to defeating Marcy Kaptur contempt being outspent by millions and millions of dollars,” Merrin told a Toledo tv position erstwhile he announced he’d activity a rematch. “Less than 49% of nan group said, ”' We want Marcy Kaptur to proceed beyond 40 years.’ "
The GOP hopefuls blasted Kaptur for this fall’s authorities shutdown, opportunity she’s been successful Washington excessively long, and reason that Republicans would amended correspond nan region.
“Ohio deserves a typical who puts our families first – not 1 who puts New York and California extremism first," said a connection from Nadeem.
The title is shaping up arsenic a trial of whether longtime work tin flooded partisan surface science successful an era of aggravated polarization. Kaptur’s grounds of winning successful Trump territory suggests it’s possible, but nan caller representation pushes that mentation to its limits.
“I’m highly proud to beryllium a typical from what I telephone nan Great Lakes nation,” Kaptur said. “When I look astatine nan advancement that we’ve made successful nan restoration of nan alloy industry, nan betterment of nan automotive industry, erstwhile I look astatine nan artistry pinch our museums, our orchestras, our boating community, nan largest successful nan full Great Lakes, nan effort that our group put guardant - I’m very proud of nan regions that I’ve been privileged to represent. We’ve done a batch pinch a batch of folks poised against us.”
Whether that will beryllium capable to flooded a Trump +10.5 territory successful 2026 remains an unfastened question. But if history is immoderate guide, it would beryllium foolish to count Kaptur out.
