With his gerrymandered district in jeopardy, rumors grow of a strong primary challenge to Steve Chabot
Steve Chabot is on political life support.
After barely hanging on to his heavily gerrymandered seat last November – and with that unfairly-drawn map having been ruled unconstitutional by a federal court – things are looking pretty grim for Steve Chabot.
The DCCC has already identified Congressman Chabot’s seat as a top target for the 2020 cycle (and put him on our vaunted Retirement Watch list) because this election is shaping up so poorly for Republicans in vulnerable suburban districts like his that even the House GOP’s own recruitment chair, Congresswoman Susan Brooks, announced last week that she’s retiring from her suburban Indianapolis seat.
Compounding Steve Chabot’s woes, it now looks more and more likely that he will face a strong primary challenge from Cincinnati City Councilwoman Amy Murray. Speculation of the challenge is so intense in local political circles that Cincinnati pundits and politicos discussed it at length on the Enquirer’s politics podcast – with Hamilton County GOP Chair Alex Triantafilou claiming that Chabot’s record is so far to the right that he (probably) won’t lose a primary.
Not a very helpful message for an embattled incumbent facing a tough general election fight in a swing district.
“After decades of siding with his DC special interest donors over Ohioans, Congressman Steve Chabot’s political career is hanging on by a thread,” said DCCC spokesperson Mike Gwin. “Unfortunately for Chabot, it looks like a career of voting the party line instead of doing what’s right for Ohioans can’t save him from tough races in both the primary and general elections. We wish him the best of luck.”
Cincinnati Enquirer: That’s So Cincinnati Podcast (segment starts at 40:50)
SHARON COOLIDGE, ENQUIRER POLITICAL REPORTER: Do you think [Chabot] might have a primary challenge?
ALEX TRIANTAFILOU, HAMILTON COUNTY GOP CHAIR: I know there’s been chatter about that. I’ve heard it myself.
[…]
Primaries are won on the fringes, on the left and the right, and there’s not anyone who’s going to get more to the right of Steve Chabot.
[…]
JASON WILLIAMS, ENQUIRER COLUMNIST: A lot of that chatter has, and I’ll just saw it because I’ve heard it quite a bit, had been around city councilwoman Amy Murray, as a potential primary challenger. Have you had a chance to talk to Amy about that, has she brought that up to you?
ALEX TRIANTAFILOU, HAMILTON COUNTY GOP CHAIR: I love Amy Murray, we’re good friends, I talked to her today, I saw her this morning, I’ll be with her Saturday. I think she’s terrific and she has a great future in the party.
I have talked to her about it, I’ll probably just leave it there.
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