COLUMBUS, Ohio – Fifteen-term incumbent Marcy Kaptur, one of the most reliable credit union votes in Congress, survived a challenge in yesterday’s Democratic primary against two-time presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich that was forced by the state’s congressional redistricting and will now face Samuel "Joe" Wurzelbacher, who became known as "Joe the Plumber" during the 2008 presidential campaign -- in November’s general election.
Kaptur, with campaign contributions from CUNA, won 56% of the vote in the newly redrawn congressional district, with Kucinith, an eight-term member of the House and two-time presidential candidate, scoring 40%. A third candidate in the Democratic primary won the other 4%.
"We are pleased that Rep. Kaptur won; she's been a good friend to credit unions and has shown she understands our challenges,” said CUNA President Bill Cheney. “NAFCU has supported Congresswoman Kaptur over the years and she has been supportive of NAFCU issues ranging from CURIA in the past to MBL currently,” said NAFCU President Fred Becker.
The race was one of the first in the nation that will pit credit union friends against each other as a result of the once-a-decade redistricting of House seats.
Kaptur has always been a reliable vote for credit union-backed bills—from HR 1151 to raising the member business loan cap–and received a 2009 award from the World Council of CUs for helping to obtain a grant to organize the Polish credit union system.
Wurzelbacher, who gained the nickname "Joe the Plumber" for expressing working-class concerns about taxes to then-candidate Barack Obama during a stop to the region, defeated Steve Kraus, a Sandusky real estate agent, to win the GOP nomination in the 9th District.
Ohio lost two congressional districts and the borders of the remaining districts were redrawn because of the population losses recorded by the 2010 U.S. Census. The new congressional map combines the districts of Kaptur, who represents what is currently the 9th district, and Kucinich, who represents the 10th.
Kaptur, is the longest-serving woman in the House and a senior member of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, where she stands to be the next chairman if the Democrats win back control of the House.
Kucinich was elected mayor of Cleveland at the age of 31 and became known nationally as the "boy mayor of Cleveland." It was the late '70s, and the finances of the city were in shambles, as they were across much of the country.
