3 Democrats vying to unseat Jordan in Ohio's 4th House District

RICHWOOD — Three Democratic Party candidates are vying for the chance to try and turn a Republican stronghold blue in November.

Shannon M. Freshour, Mike Larsen, and Jeffrey A. Sites are facing off in the Democratic primary election set for Tuesday, March 17. The winner will meet Republican Rep. Jim Jordan and two other candidates in the fall to see who will represent Ohio's 4th District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Chris Gibbs, a former Shelby County Republican Party chairman who now identifies himself an independent, and Libertarian Party member Steve Perkins are also running against Jordan.

The three Democrats participated in a candidates' forum Tuesday at the Richwood-North Union Public Library, sponsored by the Richwood Women of Action.

Meet the candidates

Freshour, who resides in Marysville, is a litigation paralegal. She describes herself as the daughter of a single mother who often worked multiple jobs to provide for their family. As a result, Freshour said, she "had Ohio core values instilled in her at a young age." Freshour said she is extremely concerned about President Donald Trump's proposed budget and Jordan's support for it.

"It's an $800 billion cut to Social Security and and Medicare and Medicaid," she said. "It is a $2 trillion cut to the social safety net. It is a 9 percent cut to health and human services, including a 9 percent cut to the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), which is fighting the Coronavirus. It's also fighting the flu and the flu has killed 10,000 Americans this season. It's a 26 percent cut to the EPA when we're in a climate crisis.

"All of these things are being sliced and diced simply to pay for a billionaire budget cut. These are the things that are the most important things I think we need to be fighting for."

Larsen is a retired television writer who worked on popular shows like "The Drew Carey Show" and "Ellen." He and his family now live in Plain City. He also has a background in politics, working for several progressive Democrats including former California Gov. Jerry Brown, former Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Rep. Jackie Speier of California.

"I'm running for Congress because, two years ago, I worked on Janet Garrett's campaign when Janet ran against Jim Jordan," he said. "But as I traveled around this district, I kept running into Democratic candidates who seemed to think the way to win in Ohio was to pretend to be half a Republican. They didn't stand up for Democratic values. They didn't stand up for funding Planned Parenthood and unions and fighting climate change and marriage equality, the things that are hard-wired into Democrats and progressives. ... I'm running as my authentic self. I'm proud of that and I think it resonates with people."

Sites, who resides in Lima with his teenage daughter, is a U.S. Army veteran and served as a military police officer. He currently works as an assistant manager of shipping and receiving, supervising a team of 70 employees for Roki America Co. in Findlay. He said concerns about health care, education, and the federal deficit inspired him to to run for elected office.

"We all need single-payer health care. I differ on how we get there," he said, sharing that his brother, who suffers from sarcoidosis, has benefited from the Affordable Care Act (ACA). "I was thinking last night when we were all in Lima, every vote for Jim Jordan is a nail in my brother's coffin. I know, no matter what the president says, no matter what Jim Jordan says, they are going to do their best to repeal the ACA. When the president goes on TV and says he will protect preexisting conditions, he's full of it, because he's in court right now trying to defeat (the ACA)."

Differences between candidates

Each candidate was asked what set them apart from their competitors in the Democratic primary. Freshour said being a woman makes her more qualified than her fellow candidates.

"For the first time in history, being a woman in politics is a bonus, it's a benefit," she said. "It's never been that way before. And we're seeing studies that indicate that female legislators are way more effective than male legislators. We're used to compromising, we're used to cutting deals, we're used to negotiating, and we're not used to getting everything we want. We're used to making sure that everyone is happy. And I think that as a woman, that's something we're intrinsically trained to do, and so I believe that's one of the ways I can succeed."

Larsen said he is an uncompromising progressive Democrat, unlike his competitors.

"I think what sets us apart is the fact that I am running on strong Democratic values. I am not pretending to be less than I am," he said. "I am a progressive Democrat. Also, I need to mention that I have experience working in Congress. I worked for five years for Congresswoman Jackie Speier. ... So, I've been there. I spent five years on the Hill."

Sites noted that he is more moderate than his competitors, but believes that will help him be successful in the primary and general elections.

"As one of the other candidates said, I'm a Democrat-light, which means I'm a moderate," Sites said. "What the difference is, is I do the math throughout the district, and we know for a fact that Republicans outnumber Democrats, usually 2 to 1, sometimes 3 to 1. So, in order for a Democrat to win the Ohio 4th, we have to reach out there for those moderates and bring those people toward us. And that's what I'm going to do, I'm going to bring those voters to us and, hopefully, we can flip this district in 2020."

Ohio's 4th a deep red district

Ohio's 4th Congressional District has been a Republican Party stronghold since 1938 when Walter H. Albaugh was elected to finish the unexpired term of Democrat Frank Le Blond Kloeb, who resigned in 1937 after being appointed to serve as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Jordan is now in his seventh term in the House after first being elected in 2006. He replaced fellow Republican Mike Oxley, who retired from politics in 2006 after 26 years in the House of Representatives.

Email: eacarter@marionstar.com

Office: 740-375-5154

Twitter: @AndrewACCarter