Ohio Republican J.R. Majewski abandons 2nd congressional bid, citing mother’s health
May 31, 2023, 12:34 PM
FILE - J.R. Majewski, Republican candidate for Ohio's 9th Congressional District, speaks at a campaign rally in Youngstown, Ohio, Sept. 17, 2022. The Trump-backed Republican whose military record was called into question during his unsuccessful 2022 congressional campaign announced Wednesday, April 12, 2023, that he plans to run again next year. (AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Tom E. Puskar, File)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A Donald Trump-backed Ohio Republican whose military record was called into question during his unsuccessful 2022 congressional campaign says he is abandoning plans to run again next year.
J.R. Majewski tweeted Tuesday that he is bowing out of his latest effort to win the GOP nomination and take on Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur due to his mother’s health.
“Last cycle, I lost my father before the primary election and I can’t risk not giving my full attention to my family,” he said on Twitter. “But don’t fret, I love this country too much to stay idle.”
He had planned to focus his campaign on working-class citizens and “putting America first.”
Majewski, of Port Clinton on Lake Erie, first drew public attention for drawing a sprawling banner supporting Trump across his lawn, and the former president went on to promote Majewski’s political future at a rally in southwest Ohio in November.
The former nuclear power industry worker was the longest serving woman in Congress, by more than 13 percentage points.
Ahead of the election, defiantly remained in the race, saying his deployment was classified and therefore not present in public records.
The AP later reported that Majewski was demoted in the military for driving drunk on an air base, another contradiction to his previous statements.
