When U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-12) came to Shaker Heights this week to fundraise for Democratic 13th Congressional District candidate Emilia Sykes, Republican hopeful Madison Gesiotto Gilbert was happy to let constituents know about it.
This wasn’t the Speaker’s first major show of support for Sykes; Pelosi cut her a $30,000 check via her campaign organization in July. When Pelosi flew east to support Sykes, a state representative from Ohio’s 34th Legislative District who the National Republican Congressional Committee calls Pelosi’s “protégé,” Republican spokesperson Courtney Parella, put out a statement saying, “Emilia Sykes is bought and paid for by Nancy Pelosi and would serve as a rubber stamp for Pelosi’s failed economic agenda.”
Gilbert herself was so glad to tie her rival to the famously left-wing House leader, she recorded a video message and posted it on social media. In the recording, she sardonically offers a gift basket to Pelosi full of items to emphasize the struggles that residents of her district face since inflation recently skyrocketed to its highest level in four decades.
“I figured we should give her a warm Ohio welcome,” she began.
She then reached into the basket and tossed out, one by one, a gift card to help pay for expensive gas, baby formula for any new mothers Pelosi meets in the Buckeye State, Monopoly money to satisfy her penchant for spending taxpayer dollars and a map showing her the way back to San Francisco.
As she went through the offerings, the Republican attorney and former Miss Ohio blasted the Speaker and her party for an “anti-American energy agenda” and for failing to end the supply chain crisis that has made obtaining formula difficult for young mothers including Gilbert herself. Of Pelosi’s fiscal policy — under which the national debt has risen to more than $31 trillion — the candidate declared that “enough is enough” and ascribed the currently unrelenting inflation to exorbitant congressional spending. Gilbert finished with a swipe at the Speaker’s hometown of San Francisco, which is struggling to overcome rampant homelessness and drug abuse.
“You’ve ruined your own state and city; don’t come here and ruin ours,” she concluded. “We look forward to firing you in January.”
Gilbert and Sykes are competing for an open seat representing a district containing Youngstown and the eastern Akron suburbs. Republicans regard the seat as an opportunity for a pick-up insofar as incumbent Democratic Representative Tim Ryan is leaving the House and competing with Republican J.D. Vance to succeed retiring GOP Senator Rob Portman.
Despite Ryan having represented the region since 2003 and President Joe Biden having won the district by three percentage points two years ago, number crunchers like The Cook Political Report regard this race as a toss-up. It’s one of three fairly competitive Ohio seats for which Pelosi came to fundraise in hope of keeping or turning them Democratic. The others are the Toledo-based 9th Congressional District, where longtime incumbent Marcy Kaptur faces a challenge from J.R. Majewski, and the 1st Congressional District, where Republican Representative Steve Chabot (R-Cincinnati) faces a challenge from Democratic Cincinnati City Councilman Greg Landsman.
Pelosi’s party currently has a 222-to-213-seat advantage in the House, meaning Republicans need to flip only six seats to gain control of the chamber, an outcome data analysts believe is very likely.
Despite the probability of a close race, Gilbert has not hidden her conservative bona fides, instead showcasing endorsements from former President Donald Trump and organizations like Americans for Prosperity, Freedomworks, Ohio Right to Life and the National Rifle Association. Sykes has meanwhile run consistently to the left, touting her support from the pro-abortion group EMILY’s List.
According to campaign finance reports filed so far, Sykes has slightly exceeded Gilbert in raking in campaign cash so far, having raised $1,775,181 to Gilbert’s $1,640,532 as of September 30. On that date, however, the Republican had over $180,000 more in the bank than the Democrat.
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Bradley Vasoli is managing editor of The Ohio Star. Follow Brad on Twitter at @BVasoli. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Madison Gesiotto Gilbert” by Madison Gesiotto Gilbert. Photo “Emilia Sykes” by Emilia Sykes.
