Jordan, left, and Wilson, right
LIMA — Rep. Jim Jordan (R) has stuck to a message calling out the Biden administration and warning about the consequences of Republicans, including himself and former President Donald Trump, losing their races throughout this election season.
His Democratic opponent in the race for Ohio’s Fourth District, Tamie Wilson, has consistently delivered a message lambasting the incumbent Jordan for, in her words, voting against the people he represents 97 percent of the time.
“I think it’s pathetic that he wants to always put the blame on Democrats rather than taking accountability for being such a failed congressperson for this district,” Wilson, a small business owner who positions herself as a moderate who stands with the working class, said. “He has brought no jobs to the district and no money because he never raises his hand to ask for earmark funding when the government rolls out the budget. Our people are struggling and it is so upsetting.”
Jordan, a staunch ally of Trump, boiled his pitch down to voters at a recent event in St. Marys.
“You had the Trump years and then you had the Biden-Harris years and this election cycle is really so simple, I think,” the conservative Republican said. “We went from a secure border to no border, safe streets to record levels of crime, from $2 gas to $4 gas and stable prices to record inflation. I think more and more Americans now are honing in on the facts and issues and I think they’re going to say we want the common sense policies that were working versus the crazy stuff we’ve had now.”
Wilson called attention to her visits to the border, opposition to ideas like defunding the police and her own partiality to common sense policies.
“I’m a very common sense, practical person,” she said. “I get along with all walks of life and every political affiliation. I support the Second Amendment because I grew up shooting guns, but 96 percent of the population wants to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.”
Jordan, who chairs the House Freedom Caucus, has branded himself as a defender of freedom of speech and a pro-family conservative who stands against raising taxes.
“The Democratic party’s positions now are for defunding the police, open borders, non-citizens voting and guys against girls in sports,” he said. “They have all kinds of crazy positions and are talking about raising people’s taxes and taxing unrealized gains. So that’s what’s at stake in this.”
Wilson previously ran against Jordan for the seat in 2022, losing by more than 100,000 votes and she would have to overcome similarly stacked odds this year.
“I’m just going to keep doing what we’re doing, talking to voters and they’ll get to decide,” Jordan said. “I feel good about our chances. We won big last time and I assume we’ll be fine.”
“It’s a whole different race because I’ve connected with the voters and people have gotten to know me,” Wilson said. “I have built relationships with people and I’ve been able to educate the voters about (Jordan) and his record.”
Election Day is set for Tuesday, Nov. 5.
For polling information, visit your local board of elections.
Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.
