Former State Representative from Defiance and current candidate for Ohio’s 9th Congressional district in 2024 Craig Riedel received endorsements on Monday from four Republican members of the U.S. House leadership.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA-20), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA-01), Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN-06), and House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-NY-21) all vocalized their support for Riedel’s run for the House to unseat U.S. Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D-OH-09) who is currently serving her 21st term in Congress.
According to McCarthy, Riedel is the candidate to beat Kaptur in 2024.
“I’m proud to endorse Craig Riedel. Craig will be a strong and principled conservative voice for Northwest Ohio in Congress and an opponent of the liberal Biden policies that have hurt our country. Craig is the candidate to beat Marcy Kaptur next year,” McCarthy said.
Scalise echoed McCarthy saying that Riedel is the “right man for the job.”
“We need Craig Riedel in Congress to help us in the fight against the failed policies of the Biden Administration. Northwest Ohio deserves a better choice than Marcy Kaptur, I believe Craig is the right man for the job,” Scalise said.
According to Emmer, “Winning this seat is critical for House Republicans to expand our majority.”
“I am honored to endorse Craig Riedel. He is the candidate who will win and deliver common-sense solutions to the failed policies being pushed by Marcy Kaptur and Joe Biden,” Emmer said.
Stefanik said she gives Riedel her “complete and total endorsement.”
“Craig Riedel is the conservative fighter we need to flip this seat, expand our Republican Majority, and join our fight to Save America,” Stefanik said.
According to Riedel, He is thankful for the Republican House leadership endorsement and looks forward to working together with them.
“I am incredibly thankful to have earned the support of Speaker McCarthy, Leader Scalise, Whip Emmer, and Chairwoman Stefanik. I look forward to the opportunity to work together to ensure that we can protect our traditional American values, protect the Second Amendment, and get our economy moving again,” Riedel said.
Riedel also recently received endorsements from Congressmen Jim Jordan (R-OH-04) and Max Miller (R-OH-07).
According to Jordan, Riedel is a “rock-solid conservative.”
Miller stated that Riedel is the candidate who can defeat incumbent Kaptur in the 9th Congressional District.
Riedel is a former three-term State Representative who served the 82nd district from 2017 to 2022. The 82nd district consists of Defiance, Paulding, and Van Wert counties as well as a portion of Auglaize County.
Riedel was born in Oberlin, Ohio. He attended Ohio State University where he received a degree in civil engineering. He worked as an engineer for over twenty-five years with Nucor Vulcraft Group, located in Defiance. In 2015, Riedel retired but continued to remain active in his community prior to being elected to public office.
There are two other Republican challengers in the race to unseat Kaptur Steve Lankenau, a former mayor of Napoleon, and Dan Wilczynski, a former mayor of Walbridge. Ohio Republican JR Majewski announced his candidacy earlier this year but dropped out of the race shortly after saying he needed to focus on his family.
Reports state that Kaptur has already filed the paperwork necessary for candidacy in the November 2024 race for Congressional District 9.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star, The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Craig Reidel” by Craig Riedel.
