Marcy Kaptur

Marcia Carolyn Kaptur ( ; born June 17, 1946) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Ohio's 9th congressional district since 1983. Her district stretches across northwestern Ohio along the southern shore of Lake Erie and includes parts of Toledo and surrounding communities. She is a member of the Democratic Party.

Born in Toledo, Ohio, Kaptur earned a degree in history from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Michigan. Before her election to Congress, she worked as an urban planner in Toledo and served as a domestic policy advisor on urban affairs in the Jimmy Carter administration.

Kaptur serves on the House Appropriations and Budget Committees and introduced legislation which established the National World War II Memorial. She is considered an economic populist, having opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement and other free trade agreements, as well as having voted against the federal bailout of major banks during the 2008 financial crisis. Both of her parents were of Polish descent. Her paternal grandparents came from the town of Żnin in present-day Poland, while her maternal grandparents, the Rogowskis, were from the area of Polonne, now located in Ukraine's Khmelnytskyi Oblast. Her family ran a small grocery store in Rossford, and her mother was an automobile union organizer.

She graduated from St. Ursula Academy, an all-girls Catholic preparatory school, in 1964 and was the first person in her family to attend college. She received her undergraduate degree in history from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1968 She began doctoral studies in urban planning development finance at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1981.

Early career Kaptur began her career in urban planning, working as an urban planner on the Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions from 1969 to 1975. Afterwards, she joined the Carter administration as a domestic policy advisor on urban affairs and helped advance several housing and neighborhood revitalization bills through Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives Elections

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. but chose not to run. Kaptur was instead challenged by Republican Rich Iott, a Tea Party movement favorite. She was reelected to a 15th term with 59% of the vote, her closest victory since 1984. 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.thumb Kaptur being sworn into the 115th U.S. Congress 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.

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 Arts Caucus Congressional Caucus on Poland (co-chair) Congressional Ukraine Caucus (co-chair)

Political positions

Free trade

Kaptur opposes free trade agreements. She helped lead opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement, permanent normal trade relations for the People's Republic of China, and fast track authority for the president. She argued that the change hurt small businesses, stating, "Our patent system is the finest in the world... the proposed solutions are special fixes that benefit these few giants at the expense of everyone else."

She later co-sponsored the Restoring America's Leadership in Innovation Act, which aimed to strengthen inventors’ property rights. The bill proposed eliminating the administrative review process that allows the public to challenge the validity of patents, a process originally designed to prevent misuse of the patent system.

Immigration reform In February 2025, Kaptur raised concerns about Elon Musk's U.S. citizenship status, questioning his allegiance due to his multiple nationalities. Speaking outside the Capitol, Kaptur remarked, "Mr. Musk has just been here 22 years. And he’s a citizen of three countries. I always ask myself the question, with the damage he’s doing here, when push comes to shove, which country is his loyalty to? South Africa? Canada? Or the United States? And he’s only been a citizen, I’ll say again, 22 years." Kaptur's remarks quickly drew backlash on social media, with many users criticizing them as nativist rhetoric.

Foreign affairs

Kaptur serves as co-chair of the Congressional Ukrainian Caucus and has been a vocal supporter for Ukraine during the Russo-Ukrainian War. She has expressed support for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and stated that the country "voted for her own independence and has been laboring to be free with continued Russian meddling in her country all these decades." In 2023, Kaptur signed a letter urging President Joe Biden to provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine.

Abortion Kaptur supported Roe v. Wade, calling it "the law of the land," but describes herself as neither strictly pro-choice nor pro-life. and 2003, the Stupak-Pitts Amendment in 2009, and the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act in 2011. She voted multiple times in the 1990s against allowing privately funded abortions at overseas military hospitals, though she supported lifting the ban in 2005. Her record on other abortion-related legislation has varied. She voted against the Child Custody Protection Act (1999), the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (2005), and the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (2023). In 2007, she voted against federally funded embryonic stem-cell research. In 2010, she withheld support for the Affordable Care Act until assured it would not provide funding for abortions. She supports the requirement that Medicaid provide coverage for abortions in cases of rape, incest, or life endangerment.

Personal life Kaptur is a Roman Catholic and has described her faith as a core part of her identity, particularly as an American of Polish heritage. In a letter to Network Lobby, she wrote that Catholicism gave her ancestors "worth and hope—during times of bondage, repression, punishment, war, illness, and harrowing economic downturns."

Electoral history + : Results 1982–2010 Year Democratic Votes % Swing Republican Votes % Swing Third parties Party Votes % Total votes

|Susan Skinner Independent 1,785 1.09%

|James Somers Independent 1,594 0.97% |David Muir Libertarian 1,217 0.74% 1984 |Marcy Kaptur(incumbent) 117,985 54.90% −3.05 |Frank Venner 93,210 43.37% +4.12 |Write-in 3,714 1.73% 214,909 1986 |Marcy Kaptur(incumbent) 105,646 77.52% +22.62 |Mike Shufeldt 30,643 22.48% −20.89 136,289 1988 |Marcy Kaptur(incumbent) 157,557 81.29% +3.77 |Al Hawkins 36,183 18.67% −3.81 |Write-in 72 0.04% 193,812 1990 |Marcy Kaptur(incumbent) 117,681 77.69% −3.60 |Jerry Lammers 33,791 22.31% +3.64 151,472

|Edward Howard Independent 11,162 4.59%

|Write-in 50 0.02% 1994 |Marcy Kaptur(incumbent) 118,120 75.34% +1.76 |Randy Whitman 38,665 24.66% +2.85 156,785 1996 |Marcy Kaptur(incumbent) 170,617 77.08% +1.74 |Randy Whitman 46,040 20.80% −3.86 | Elizabeth Slotnick Natural Law 4,677 2.11% 221,334 1998 |Marcy Kaptur(incumbent) 130,793 81.18% +4.10 |Ed Emery 30,312 18.12% −2.68 161,105

|Galen Fries Libertarian 4,239 1.88%

| Dennis Slotnick Natural Law 3,096 1.37% 2002 |Marcy Kaptur(incumbent) 132,236 73.99% −0.81 |Ed Emery 46,481 26.01% +4.07 178,717 2004 |Marcy Kaptur(incumbent) 205,149 68.13% −5.86 |Larry Kaczala 95,983 31.87% +5.86 301,132 2006 |Marcy Kaptur(incumbent) 153,880 73.63% +5.50 |Bradley Leavitt 55,119 26.37% −5.50 208,999 2008 |Marcy Kaptur(incumbent) 222,054 74.37% +0.74 |Bradley Leavitt 76,512 25.63% −0.74 298,566 2010 |Marcy Kaptur(incumbent) 121,819 59.35% −15.02 |Rich Iott 83,423 40.65% +15.02 205,242