Ohio Republican J.R. Majewski abandons 2nd congressional bid, citing mom’s well being

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A Donald Trump-backed Ohio Republican whose army document was referred to as into query throughout his unsuccessful 2022 congressional marketing campaign says he’s abandoning plans to run once more subsequent yr.

J.R. Majewski tweeted Tuesday that he’s bowing out of his newest effort to win the GOP nomination and tackle Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur attributable to his mom’s well being.

“Last cycle, I lost my father before the primary election and I can’t risk not giving my full attention to my family,” he stated on Twitter. “But don’t fret, I love this country too much to stay idle.”

He had deliberate to focus his marketing campaign on working-class residents and “putting America first.”

Majewski, of Port Clinton on Lake Erie, first drew public consideration for drawing a sprawling banner supporting Trump throughout his garden, and the previous president went on to advertise Majewski‘s political future at a rally in southwest Ohio in November.

The former nuclear energy trade employee was the shock winner of final yr’s four-way Republican main for the Toledo-area ninth Congressional District, successful just below 36% of the vote. He bested two sitting Republican state lawmakers and a 3rd rival to safe the nomination, however finally misplaced to Kaptur, the longest serving lady in Congress, by greater than 13 share factors.

Ahead of the election, The Associated Press reported that Majewski had misrepresented his army document to voters. He claimed he has served within the Air Force in Afghanistan, however public data indicated he had by no means deployed there and as a substitute spent six months on a base in Qatar. Majewski denied the report and defiantly remained within the race, saying his deployment was categorized and subsequently not current in public data.

The AP later reported that Majewski was demoted within the army for driving drunk on an air base, one other contradiction to his earlier statements.