House Republican Conference chair Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) withdrew her support from GOP Ohio congressional candidate Craig Riedel (OH-09) after he made “inappropriate” comments about former President Donald Trump, Breitbart News exclusively learned Thursday.
Stefanik’s decision to withdraw support highlights the importance of trust within the Republican conference, which seeks to defeat incumbent Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) in the crucial swing seat of Ohio’s 9th district.
Stefanik, who is a strong supporter of Trump and the first to endorse his 2024 reelection bid, said she informed Riedel this week that she withdrew her endorsement. Stefanik’s withdrawal of support from Riedel is the first from House leadership.
Because Riedel was the preferred candidate in the race, Republicans were blindsided last week by the comments he made on tape.
“Look, Donald Trump, he’s a different person than me,” Riedel said. “I don’t like the way he communicates. I think he is arrogant. I don’t like the way he calls people names. I just don’t think that’s very becoming of a president.”
Republicans hope to replace Kaptur, who was first elected in 1982. Redistricting recently made the district far more competitive. Politico previously reported on GOP primary upheaval:
House Republicans may have found a way to salvage their flailing prospects in a crucial swing seat. A heavy last-ditch recruitment effort from House Republican leaders pushed Ohio state Rep. Derek Merrin to jump into a chaotic primary for a Toledo-based district just before the state’s Wednesday filing deadline.
The GOP is worried about a repeat of last year, when J.R. Majewski won the primary but lost to Kaptur. Riedel is remaining in the race, raising the real risk that he and Merrin split the anti-Majewski vote, opening up a path for him to take the nomination again.
Riedel will stay in the race, according to his campaign, and the possibility that Majewski could win the primary with a plurality isn’t just hypothetical: It’s precisely what happened in 2022, when Riedel and a third candidate similarly tried to block Majewski from the nomination but ended up splitting the vote instead.
“We’re very confident we are going to win the primary,” Mark Harris, a spokesperson for Riedel, previously said. “The more they encourage other people to run, the beneficiary of that is likely to be Majewski.”
Follow Wendell Husebø on “X” @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
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