GOP voters should pick Gavarone

Republicans who want the best chance of defeating U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur in November should vote for state Sen. Theresa Gavarone in their party's primary. Gavarone, 55, is the most experienced of the four Republicans running in the 9th Congressional District. She has served in the Ohio Senate since 2019. She previously served in the Ohio House and on Bowling Green City Council. She recently moved to Huron from Bowling Green. While part of Wood County is in the 9th District, Bowling Green is not. The rest of the district includes Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Williams counties. That's a shift for Kaptur, D-Toledo, who is unopposed in her party's primary. Her current district, which includes parts of Lorain County as it snakes from Cleveland to Toledo, was drawn to elect a Democrat, and she has cruised to victory for years. Things might not be so easy for Kaptur, the longest-serving woman in the U.S. House, this time around thanks to Republican gerrymandering. Although Republicans have defined Kaptur's new district as a Democratic one, in reality it's a toss-up. Dave's Redistricting, which analyzes electoral maps, showed that 48.8 percent of the district's voters favored Democrats between 2016 and 2020, compared to 48.6 percent who favored Republicans. In an endorsement interview Gavarone, a lawyer, struck us as someone who would operate in the conservative establishment lane in a manner similar to U.S. Rep. Bob Latta, R-Bowling Green, who has endorsed her. She's a conservative who told us she was pro-life, opposed to raising taxes and in favor of gun rights. She was critical of President Joe Biden and said she wanted to rein in deficit spending. The other GOP candidates are Beth Deck of Vermilion, J.R. Majewski of Port Clinton and state Rep. Craig Riedel of Defiance. Deck, 63, works as a program manager for the Ohio Department of Veterans Services. She told us in an endorsement interview that she felt "God was leading me" to run for Congress, her first time seeking public office. Of all the candidates, we found Deck the least informed on the issues, although she did hit several key Republican talking points, including opposing "socialism" and vaccine mandates, and securing the southern border. Majewski, 42, is an Air Force veteran and worked as a project manager in the nuclear industry. He told us in an endorsement interview that he decided to run because he "didn't see any good Republicans" in the race. Although all of the candidates talked about improving election security, Majewski was the only one who flat-out told us he believed the 2020 presidential election was stolen (which isn't true). He said he took part in the protest in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, although he didn't enter the Capitol. He said that the FBI had cleared him of any wrongdoing that day. Majewski said he'd been accused of adhering to the QAnon conspiracy theory, although he disputed that characterization. He said he had appeared on a podcast with someone who did support QAnon. That's some heavy baggage to carry into a general election in a swing district. Riedel, 55, spent 27 years in the steel industry before retiring and running for the Ohio House, where he's now in his third term. He has the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, who represents portions of Lorain County, including Elyria. Riedel told us in an endorsement interview that he and Jordan had a lot in common and that, if elected, he would join the House Freedom Caucus, of which Jordan is a member. The group is known for its uncompromising style and right-wing positions. Running hard to the right might work in Riedel's deep red state House district, but it carries with it the risk of turning off a large swath of middle-of-the-road voters in a more evenly divided district. Nor did Riedel, who said he was the most conservative candidate in the race, appear to have a plan to win over those voters if he wins the primary. Gavarone, by contrast, has shown the capacity to work across the aisle. For instance, she was the primary sponsor of a bill that allows student athletes to wear religious apparel at sporting events and extracurricular activities. The bill, which passed with broad bipartisan support, came about after a Muslim athlete was disqualified from a cross-country race in 2019 because she hadn't obtained a waiver for the hijab she was wearing. "I have a track record of getting legislation across the finish line," Gavarone said. Republicans should put Gavarone through to the general election race.