The Case Against Rep. Steve Chabot

“For 25 years, Southwest Ohio and the people of Cincinnati have been given the short shrift by Steve Chabot, whose time in Washington has only served to obstruct progress and make life harder for families. Greg Landsman, a former public school teacher and passionate public servant, will offer Southwest Ohio a fresh voice in Congress who will lead and deliver for families, workers and businesses,” said DCCC Chairman Sean Patrick Maloney.

To: Interested Parties
From: Abel Iraola, DCCC Regional Press Secretary
Date: May 3, 2022
RE: The Case Against Rep. Steve Chabot

Steve Chabot has precious little to show for the 25 years he has spent in Washington, with a record that depicts a congressman more interested in making sure his corporate donors get a good return on their investments than delivering for Southwest Ohio. Chabot has consistently worked to make life harder and more expensive for families while taking millions in contributions from big corporations and special interests.

Over the course of the current Congress alone, Chabot has:

• Voted against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, denying Ohio a much-needed investment into roads, bridges, and highways, including the Brent Spence Bridge.

• Voted against the American Rescue Plan, which helped save Ohio’s economy and provided crucial support to families, workers, schools, law enforcement, and small businesses.

• Signed an amicus brief to overturn Roe v. Wade and voted against the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have codified Roe and guaranteed reproductive rights for women across the country

• Refused to support a $35 per month cap on the cost of insulin that would significantly bring down costs for thousands of Ohioans

The direct funding in the American Rescue Plan which Chabot opposed has also gone to bolstering public safety locally – with funding to hire and train additional law enforcement and invest in technology and innovation to allow them to work more effectively and efficiently.

Add to that: a history of siding with his big corporate donors and special interests instead of with working families in Southwest Ohio.

Chabot, a beneficiary of $3,620,621 worth of donations from the finance, insurance, and real estate industries, and $149,907 in pharmaceutical interests, has voted over a dozen times to gut health care protections causing thousands of his constituents to lose insurance. And while Ohio has reeled from the opioid crisis, Steve Chabot has benefited, taking generous contributions from companies convicted of being complicit in driving the crisis, and even personally making money off of the crisis.

Put simply: after 25 years in Washington, Steve Chabot has lost touch with Southwest Ohio and is just working for his corporate donors.

Instead, Southwest Ohio needs someone like Cincinnati Councilman Greg Landsman, a former public school teacher and education leader who has spent his career working to improve the lives of children, families and working people in Cincinnati and beyond. Greg will be a fresh voice in Washington, ready to work across the aisle and fight to deliver lower costs, more affordable health care, and more opportunity for Southwest Ohioans who have been neglected for so long by crooked and out-of-touch representation.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING

Cincinnati Democrat launches campaign to take on GOP Congressman Steve Chabot  [Cincinnati Enquirer, 1/5/22]

“Landsman, 44, is particularly passionate about policies that help children and working-class families, and he’s frustrated about Chabot voting against a pandemic relief bill that included child-tax credits. Landsman led an effort in 2016 to pass a levy that covers preschool costs for all Cincinnati children … He’s sincere about policy and is expected to run a solid campaign.”

“The money would go to build a new bridge alongside the Brent Spence. The Federal Highway Administration declared the bridge functionally obsolete in the 1990s because its narrow lanes carried more cars than it was designed for … The $1.2 infrastructure bill that Congress passed Friday could jump-start plans for new Amtrak routes and expanded passenger service out of Cincinnati … [and] the bill allots $39 billion for public transit projects, including repairs and upgrades to buses, rail cars, tracks and stations.”

“The Republicans who represent the Cincinnati region all voted against the bill … [including] Rep. Steve Chabot, a Republican from Westwood,”

“At least three Republicans …  raised less during the quarter than a potential opponent … Chabot took in $197,000 to Greg Landsman’s $533,000.”

Steve Chabot: Everything Wrong with Congress 

Obstacle to Ohio’s Economic Recovery
Steve Chabot hasn’t lifted a finger to help Southwest Ohio’s pandemic recovery – but he has to get in the way of it. Chabot voted against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, taking a stand against members of his own party on a law that will see historic investments in improving roads, bridges, and highways across Ohio, including the Brent Spence Bridge which impacts thousands of people in Chabot’s own district.

He voted against the American Rescue Plan, which helped save Ohio’s economy and get the state back on track, providing critical support for workers, families, $250 million for law enforcement and first responders, small businesses, schools, universities and more.

He voted against the COMPETES Act, which is set to boost America’s competitiveness and its ability to better compete against nations like China.

Driving Up Healthcare Costs While Restricting Healthcare Access
Time and time again, Steve Chabot has supported bills to strip away people’s health care protections which would have resulted in higher premiums, higher costs and lost coverage for thousands of Ohioans. This Congress, Chabot voted against capping insulin at $35, which would significantly bring down health costs for many families in OH-01. Chabot voted against a dozen of his Republican colleagues, choosing to side with pharmaceutical and insurance interests from which he’s taken hundreds of thousands of dollars rather than taking a bipartisan vote.

And when it comes to reproductive rights in Ohio, few in the state represent a larger threat to those rights than Steve Chabot – who last July signed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, despite the fact that it has the support of a majority of Americans, including Ohioans. Chabot has repeatedly voted to defund Planned Parenthood, endangering publicly-funded contraceptive services for more than 730,000 Ohioans.

Chabot’s Motto: Donors First
If there’s one group of people Steve Chabot delivers for consistently in Congress, it’s his big corporate donors and the special interests pumping money into his campaign account. Let’s take a look:

•  Chabot has taken $3,620,621 worth of donations from the Finance, Insurance, and Real Estate interests, and $149,907 in pharmaceutical interests, while voting to deregulate big banks, weaken consumer protections, and to stop critical bipartisan legislation that would bring costs down for families and workers.

• Chabot even voted for the GOP tax scam that benefitted the wealthiest 1% of Americans while increasing the deficit by $1.5 trillion.

THE PATH TO VICTORY

Steve Chabot has precious little to show for his 25 years in Washington. During his time in Congress, Chabot has made sure to look after himself first, delivering wins for his big corporate donors while neglecting workers, families and businesses in OH-01. During the pandemic, Chabot stood in the way of efforts to kickstart Ohio’s pandemic recovery, even when such measures had bipartisan support. It’s clear that Southwest Ohio can’t afford two more years of Steve Chabot’s self-serving obstruction.

In stark contrast to Chabot, Cincinnati City Council Member Greg Landsman is a former public school teacher and has made a career out of expanding educational opportunities for students in Ohio and beyond. Greg knows how important the work of our teachers is and the resources they need to succeed. As a member of City Council, Greg has been focused on raising the standard of living and improving the lives of families, workers and small businesses in the community. Despite Chabot’s vote against much needed COVID relief, Landsman and the Cincinnati Council used ARP funds to support local restaurants and small businesses, provide hazard pay to city employees negatively impacted by the pandemic, provide emergency rental assistance, and boost funding for the city’s Police Department.

Redistricting has given Democrats a unique opportunity to flip this seat. The new OH-01 keeps Cincinnati whole, and in the 2020 election President Biden would have received 54% of the vote in this iteration of Ohio’s 1st Congressional District. This is a marked Democratic performance improvement from the 46% Biden received in the previous configuration.

And in a strong show of growing momentum, Greg Landsman raised nearly triple what the incumbent Rep. Chabot raised in Q1 of 2022, nearly matching the congressman’s cash on hand in the first quarter alone. Chabot’s poor fundraising, status as a weak incumbent entrenched in DC special interests, and a strong challenger in Greg Landsman make OH-01 one of the prime Red to Blue opportunities for Democrats in 2022.

###