U.S. House of Representatives
Elections , 1983 In 1982, while pursuing her doctorate degree, Kaptur was recruited by local Democratic leaders to run for Congress in
Ohio's
9th district in the
midterm elections. Initially considered a long shot, Kaptur entered the race after encouragement from
Geno Baroni Amid a
national recession during
President Reagan's first term and rising unemployment in
Lucas County, Kaptur later credited her victory to her strong ties to the local community. After the election, she recalled how the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which had provided no support during the race, sent her a belated $5,000 contribution. but defeated him 55–44%, even as Ronald Reagan carried the district. From 1986 to 2002, she won every election with at least 74% of the vote. She won her 12th term in 2004 with 68% of the vote, and again secured 74% in both 2006 and 2008. In the general election, she won a 16th term against Wurzelbacher and
Libertarian Sean Stipe with 73% of the vote. The reconfigured 9th was no less Democratic than its predecessor, and Kaptur had effectively clinched reelection by defeating Kucinich in the primary. in 2017Kaptur's 2014 opponent was Richard May, a longtime Republican activist from west Cleveland, who beat Lakewood resident Robert C. Horrocks Jr. in the May 6 primary. Kaptur won 68–32%. In 2024, she faced an extremely close race against state representative
Derek Merrin, who was endorsed by Trump. Kaptur won reelection by less than one percentage point at 48.3% to Merrin's 47.6%, which marked the first time in her political career that she failed to secure a majority of the vote. At the time, she became the first woman to represent
Ohio's 9th congressional district and was one of 24 women serving in
Congress. In her first term, she was appointed to the
Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs Committee as well as the
Veterans’ Affairs Committee. The bill authorized the
American Battle Monuments Commission to establish a World War II memorial. It was not voted on before the end of the session and so failed to be enacted. Kaptur introduced similar legislation twice in 1989 but these bills also failed to become law. Kaptur introduced legislation for the fourth time in 1993. This time the legislation was voted on and passed in the House. After a companion bill was passed in the
United States Senate, President
Bill Clinton signed the bill into law. Kaptur later said that she felt "a great sense of fulfillment" that the memorial was built. "This generation was the most unselfish America has ever seen," she said. "They never asked anybody for anything in return." In 1993, Kaptur strongly opposed the signing of the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Her prominent role in trade policy debates attracted national attention, and in 1996, independent presidential candidate
Ross Perot invited her to join his
election campaign as a vice-presidential candidate for the
1996 presidential election. She declined the offer. , 2013 Kaptur was a vocal critic of
Wall Street and its role in the
2008 financial crisis. She opposed the
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which authorized a federal bailout of major U.S. banks. Her position, along with her broader criticism of the financial industry, was featured in
Michael Moore’s 2009 documentary
Capitalism: A Love Story. In 2011, Kaptur introduced H.R. 1489, a bill aimed at restoring key provisions of the
Glass–Steagall Act (1933) by repealing parts of the
Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act (1999) and restoring the separation between commercial banking and securities trading. The bill received support from 30 co-sponsors. In the 2000s, Kaptur sought to steer the Democratic Party towards a greater focus on its working-class base and sought a leadership role by emphasizing her Midwestern "heartland" roots in contrast to the party's coastal leadership. In 2002, she challenged Representative
Nancy Pelosi for the position of
House Democratic leader, using her candidacy to draw attention to what she described as the party's neglect of its "non-money wing." She withdrew before a vote was taken. In 2008, Kaptur ran for vice chair of the
House Democratic Caucus, but lost to Representative
Xavier Becerra, a close Pelosi ally. After Democrats lost their House majority in the
2010 midterm elections, Kaptur was among those who called for a delay in leadership elections—an effort some interpreted as encouraging Pelosi to step aside. In 2016, Kaptur endorsed Senator
Bernie Sanders in the
Democratic presidential primary and introduced him at a rally in
Toledo. In October, she endorsed the nominee,
Hillary Clinton, who had won Ohio and her district in the primary. In 2018, Kaptur became the longest-serving woman in the House of Representatives, and then in 2023, she became the longest-serving woman in Congress overall.
Committee assignments For the
119th Congress: •
Committee on Appropriations •
Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies •
Subcommittee on Defense •
Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies (
ranking member) •
Committee on the Budget Caucus memberships •
Blue Collar Caucus • Congressional Caucus on Poland (co-chair) •
Congressional Ukraine Caucus (co-chair) == Political positions ==