House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries campaigned alongside Rep. Marcy Kaptur in Toledo on Sunday, declaring that the election climate is holding firm for Democrats as both parties focus on a congressional district crucial for majority control of the House, The Associated Press reported.
The Toledo-area seat is a top-tier battleground in the midterm elections. Kaptur, the longest-serving woman in the House, faces a repeat challenge from Republican Derek Merrin, in a district previously carried by President Donald Trump.
During their Sunday appearance, Jeffries and Kaptur attended church services together as part of a nationwide tour that has taken Jeffries to roughly 50 cities, according to the AP report.
Jeffries dismissed assertions from House Speaker Mike Johnson that the upcoming Nov. 3 election will mirror the 2024 sweep that secured a Republican majority in Washington. He told the AP that House Republicans are divorced from reality on the ground.
“We are working hard across the country, continuing to make the case that we need dramatic change as opposed to the status quo,” Jeffries said, “and that Democrats are going to be the only ones to fight to make this country affordable.”
GOP strategists are mounting an aggressive effort to flip the seat after Kaptur defeated Merrin two years ago, making northwest Ohio one of the most closely watched House races in the state heading into the final two weeks before Election Day.
Early voting in Ohio is already under way and runs through Nov. 1, with Election Day on Nov. 3. Voters in Lucas County and the surrounding district can cast an early ballot at their county board of elections during the posted hours.
The attention from the House Democratic leader underlines how national the Toledo race has become. With control of the House potentially hinging on a handful of districts, both parties are sending surrogates, money and organizing staff into northwest Ohio in the closing stretch, and Kaptur’s longevity in the seat is being tested by a challenger Republicans recruited for a rematch.
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