Majewski running for Congress
PORT CLINTON – J.R. Majewski, the Port Clinton man who painted a Trump banner across his entire front yard, is running for U.S. Congress, aiming to challenge U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, Dtoledo, for Ohio's Ninth District seat.
Majewski, a northwest Ohio native who grew up in Toledo, resides in Bay Township and works in the nuclear power industry.
Last year, Majewski made headlines nationwide after painting his 19,000square-foot front yard into an enormous banner supporting former President Donald Trump's reelection bid at the time.
Later in September, Majewski went on to host a large watch party for the first presidential debate between Trump and then-candidate Joe Biden there outside his home.
At that event, Majewski alluded to his interest in perhaps one day running for public office.
Now, Majewski is hoping to unseat the nation's longest-serving congresswoman in Kaptur, who has served the district for nearly 40 years.
The Ninth, often referred to as “the Snake on the Lake” since district lines were redrawn in 2011, stretches from Toledo to Cleveland across Ohio's Lake Erie shore.
Majewski described the district's current struggles as a product of failed policies. He argued that higher gas prices, higher taxes, the crisis at the border, and even local economic struggles, could be attributed to that.
“I don't think that the district can afford to continue suffering from the policies,” he said. “We have some key issues here that I believe I'm a good representative for.”
Majewski referenced the effort to save Ohio's nuclear power plants, an industry he has worked in for many years, and improving and developing the district's inner cities, having grown up in inner city Toledo.
Another major issue for Majewski is Lake Erie, which he lives on the shores of now and has spent his entire life around.
“I love Lake Erie and I believe that there is huge potential with the waterfront
we can take advantage of and I would like to be the conduit of that improvement,” he said.
First and foremost, Majewski said his top priority is engagement with the community of the Ninth District. One of the commitments he has made part of his campaign is to hold a town hall open to the public in every county he would be representing.
“I want to make myself readily available. I want to engage in discourse. I want to know what the people think,” he said. “And I want to bring their concerns to Congress. I don't want to be an idealogue.”
Since the launch of his campaign, Majewski has been making headlines again recently for reasons other than how his front yard has been painted.
Following multiple reports insinuated Majewski was linked or affiliated with Qanon, Majewski adamantly denied any such affiliation with the farright conspiracy theory, but added that he is not going to shame anyone for their beliefs.
He described himself as a “unifier,” someone who brings people together, hopefully to talk about common sense issues, he said.
“I had thousands of people come to my house over the summer, both Democrats and Republicans,” Majewski said. “And we all engaged in a good time. I wanted to develop a place where people could come and engage in political discourse and have good conversations and we did that.”