After Democrats flipped the U.S. House of Representatives in the Nov. 3 election, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Toledo) becomes the majority party’s senior member. When the new Congress is sworn in, she will be the longest-serving Democrat in the House. Only two Republicans have served longer than her.

Her staff confirmed that she intends to return to the Appropriations Committee, where she has sat since 1990, and chair the Energy and Water Development Subcommittee. The subcommittee covers the Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Station in Ottawa County and Lake Erie, both in her district.

In the November election, Kaptur beat former Ohio House member Derrick Merrin, winning 159,306 votes (52.7%) to Merrin’s 142,830 votes (47.3%). Kaptur held Toledo’s seat in the Nov. 3 midterms, as ToledoBuzz reported Nov. 7.

Kaptur said her top priorities are reversing health-care cuts and reversing tariffs, especially on Canada. She said Medicaid and Medicare funding must be protected so people in the region do not lose coverage and hospitals do not close.

“Ohio is the most impacted state in the union. One million more people will lose their health insurance by the end of the year,” Kaptur said.

Her press secretary said the two top priorities for the congresswoman are “definitely the health care cuts, reversing or turning off the tariffs, especially on Canada.”

Source: Port Clinton News Herald, Nov. 11

Marcy Kaptur official portrait, 2018. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.