House Republicans are targeting the Midwest to increase their majority in the House of Representatives, according to the Washington Examiner.
Currently, the GOP holds a 219-212 margin in the House, with three Democratic seats presently open due to the deaths of Reps. Paul Grijalva (AZ), Sylvester Turner (TX), and Gerry Connolly (VA). One Republican seat is open due to the resignation of a representative. Special elections for all seats are scheduled for later this year.
Republicans are aware that with such a bare margin, it would only take a handful of seats to flip next year, and the House would go back to Democrats, who would likely spend the final two years of President Trump’s term pushing bogus impeachment hoaxes as they did in his first term.
To that end, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) has identified 26 Democratic-held seats to target, focusing on crossover areas where President Trump fared well in the 2024 election.
Examples include Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, centered in Toledo, and represented by fossil Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D), who holds the record for the longest-serving woman in congressional history, surpassing even the insufferable Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Kaptur was first elected in 1982 and, according to the Examiner, “built her career as a champion of the industrial Midwest, cultivating close ties to organized labor and wielding seniority on the Appropriations Committee.”
However, Republicans believe her having a tenuous hold on the seat. President Trump carried the district in 2024, and Kaptur narrowly beat Republican Derek Merrin by less than 3,000 votes. Moreover, Ohio is required by its state constitution to redraw congressional maps this cycle, which could have a detrimental effect on Kaptur.
Rep. Brian Jack (R-GA) has been dispatched by the Republican National Committee on a recruitment swing through the Midwest, with one target being Kaptur’s seat.
Jack met with party officials in Toledo, as well as Republicans lining up to challenge Kaptur. One of those includes Merrin, who came within a hair’s breadth of beating her last time. Others interested include Josh Williams, the first black Republican elected to the Ohio House in 50 years, whose background consists of a period of time being homeless; Alea Nadeem, a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard was born in Toledo and spent part of her childhood in Iraq; her father is an Iraqi Muslim and her mother is an American Christian; and finally, Wayne Kinsel, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel who owns a local brewery.
One other possible candidate waiting in the wings is Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, 40, who has not ruled out a run. McColley is the state’s top legislative leader and will oversee the state's redistricting efforts. He is also being floated as a possible pick for lieutenant governor, which has made his decision one of the most closely followed in the Buckeye State.
Another seat being closely examined is Michigan’s 8th Congressional District, currently held by Democratic Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet. That district backed the president by two points in 2024, leading Republicans to believe it is a possible flip.
One Republican interested in the seat is Amir Hassan, a Navy veteran who once served on the security detail for the Secretary of Transportation. Hassan, a black Muslim, grew up in Flint and has deep ties to the community.
McDonald Rivet may prove to be a formidable opponent. She is a former Michigan state senator who was elected to Congress for the first time in 2024. It is expected that she will be the beneficiary of a significant amount of campaign cash. Democrats have noted her background in state and local government as well as her focus on economic revitalization in central Michigan, calling those strengths that could carry her past a Republican challenger.
Jack, a freshman representative, has seen an increasing role in the Republican party apparatus. While only 37, he has quickly elevated his status as an essential cog in GOP strategy. He is the first freshman to serve as deputy chairman of the NRCC, where he heads up the committee’s candidate recruitment operation. He also represents new members on the House Rules Committee, and he was tapped for a seat on the Republican Steering Committee.
Before running for Congress, Jack served as one of President Trump’s longest-serving aides, rising to the level of White House political director, and later as an advisor to Trump’s reelection campaign. The Examiner highlights his deep ties to the president, operational acumen, and his rapid ascent within the freshman class, portraying him as a rising star in the House Republican Conference.
Aside from focusing on closely held Democratic seats, the Republicans have also been boosted by a redistricting map in Texas, which is likely to add five more Republican House seats to protect the GOP majority. Other states may follow suit.
Republicans have admitted that “control of the House may come down to whether they recruit candidates who can withstand tough scrutiny and appeal beyond the party’s base,” the Examiner reported.
That is what makes Jack’s mission in Ohio and Michigan so crucial. The GOP’s ability to hold (or expand) its House majority may rely on being able to flip a couple of seats that Trump won in 2024 into the red column.
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