Air Force veteran jumps into key House race to unseat 22-term vulnerable Dem: 'Time to pass the torch'
FIRST ON FOX: Longtime Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur is facing a new Republican challenger in Ohio's 9th Congressional District in the form of Air Force veteran Alea Nadeem, who spoke exclusively to Fox News Digital about her campaign.
"This country saved me, I owe my life to this country," Nadeem, a northwest Ohio native, told Fox News Digital, recounting her harrowing life story of being kidnapped by her father and taken to Iraq, where she lived under the rule of Saddam Hussein before the U.S. government worked to bring her back.
Nadeem joined the Air Force in response to the events of 9/11 and never planned on leaving the nonpartisan military world for politics until she spent time on Capitol Hill in recent years and realized that life for people in her district was not improving.
"I got to see firsthand all the things that were happening, and I've got to tell you, my hometown where I grew up was not better off," Nadeem said. "I was seeing the policies that people were voting on, and especially the current person, Marcy Kaptur, who's been here for almost 43 years. I didn't think they were voting in a way that actually helped the way I grew up, blue-collar families."
Kaptur, who narrowly won re-election in 2024 by less than 1 percentage point, is widely considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the House. Her district will be home to one of the most highly watched races as Republicans attempt to hold a thin majority in the chamber.
Cook Political Report ranks the race as a "Democrat toss up" in a state that Trump carried by over 10 points.
Kaptur faced criticism during last year's campaign for introducing only five bills that became law in 41 years.
Nadeem told Fox News Digital that even people she talks to who "love" Kaptur agree that 22 terms in Congress is too much.
"It's time to pass the torch," Nadeem said. "One of the things that they've all said to me is they were really scared to pass a torch the last two times. They didn't feel like they had a candidate who could really step into her shoes. And so I've heard, I call it kitchen table talk. They haven't found somebody worthy to pass the torch to, but they also fully understand it's time. Everyone has been like, it's enough. We get it, 43 years. So I think they're looking for the next guardian to be able to do that. Someone they can trust. And I'm really hoping to step into that."
Nadeem spoke to Fox News Digital about the issues she plans to focus on during the campaign. At the top of the list are jobs and manufacturing.
"This is near and dear to my heart," Nadeem said, adding that making sure "we're not hollowing out the northwest and these blue-collar jobs" is her "number one priority."
Nadeem said bringing fiscal responsibility to Washington, D.C., will be another priority.
"I looked at 1983, when Marcy Kaptur was in office, I think the debt was around, that the United States debt was around like $1.6 trillion, and now it's $36 trillion," Nadeem said. "So you can just see like, under Democratic leadership, we have not done better. So we need to get our fiscal house in order because I know people in northwest Ohio really rely on Social Security and Medicare. And I call those earned benefits. And if we can't balance our checkbook, we can't pay for those things. And so I do think people deserve that."