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A top Immigration and Customs Enforcement official has resigned her position to challenge one of Congress’s longest-serving members in what promises to be a closely watched Ohio race this fall.
Madison Sheahan, 28, who served as ICE Deputy Director for less than a year, announced Thursday she will run as a Republican against Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, which stretches along Lake Erie and centers on Toledo.
In her campaign launch video, Sheahan claimed she “stopped more illegal immigration in less than a year on the job than Kaptur had in her 43 years in Washington.” The young challenger positioned herself as “a Trump conservative” while criticizing what she called Washington’s culture of “hypocrisy, excuses and failure.”
“In Washington, hypocrisy, excuses and failure can earn you a lifetime job,” Sheahan said. “But on my family farm, that would have put us out of business.”
Sheahan, a native of Curtice, Ohio, brings a resume that includes serving as secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries and as an aide to Kristi Noem when she was governor of South Dakota. Noem later appointed Sheahan to the ICE position in March after becoming Homeland Security Secretary in the Trump administration.
In her resignation letter posted on X (formerly Twitter), Sheahan thanked both Noem and President Donald Trump for their “steadfast commitment” to ICE and expressed pride in the agency’s accomplishments during her tenure.
The race has significant national implications as Trump works to maintain Republicans’ narrow House majority. The former president has been actively involved in candidate recruitment and redistricting efforts across the country, hoping to avoid a repeat of his first term when Democrats won control of the House in midterm elections and subsequently impeached him twice.
The Kaptur campaign responded to Sheahan’s announcement with a statement suggesting voters are “tired of the self-dealing corruption and culture of lawlessness they’ve seen over the last year,” adding that they want “a leader focused on affordability and real results.”
Kaptur, 79, is the longest-serving woman in Congress but has faced increasingly difficult reelection battles as Ohio’s Republican-controlled legislature has redrawn her district. A bipartisan map approved last year created boundaries that give Republicans a nearly 11-point advantage, up from approximately 9.5 points previously.
This electoral reality was evident in 2022 when Kaptur narrowly defeated Republican state Rep. Derek Merrin by less than one percentage point (48.3% to 47.6%). The race was so close that The Associated Press didn’t call it until official results were certified more than two weeks after Election Day.
Sheahan enters a crowded Republican primary field that already includes six other candidates, including Merrin who is seeking a rematch. Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, once considered a strong potential challenger to Kaptur, recently withdrew from contention after being named as entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy’s running mate in Ohio’s gubernatorial race.
Adding further dimension to the contest, local entrepreneur David Gedert, better known in the Toledo area as drag queen Sugar Vermonte, has entered the race as a Libertarian candidate.
The battle for Ohio’s 9th District exemplifies the high-stakes congressional races playing out across the country as both parties fight for control of the House of Representatives in 2024, with redistricting efforts and strategic candidate recruitment shaping the electoral landscape in key battlegrounds.
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9 Comments
I’m a bit skeptical of Sheahan’s claim that she ‘stopped more illegal immigration’ than Kaptur has in over 40 years. That seems like a bold statement without much context. I’ll be curious to see if she can back that up on the campaign trail.
Agreed, that’s a pretty strong claim. I imagine Sheahan will need to provide more specifics to substantiate it. Voters will want to see the data and understand the full context.
Interesting move for this young ICE official to jump into politics. I’m curious to see how her experience in immigration enforcement plays out in this Ohio congressional race. It’ll be a tough battle against a long-serving incumbent like Kaptur.
Given Sheahan’s background, I imagine she’ll try to make border security and immigration a key focus of her campaign. It will be interesting to see how voters in Ohio’s 9th district respond to her message.
As someone who follows energy and mining issues, I’m interested to see if Sheahan’s background touches on those topics at all in her congressional campaign. Ohio’s 9th district has a sizable industrial and manufacturing presence, so those sectors could be relevant.
Good point. Given Sheahan’s experience in natural resource management in Louisiana, she may try to appeal to energy and mining interests in the district. That could be a differentiator versus the long-serving Kaptur.
The race in Ohio’s 9th looks like it could be quite a battleground this fall. Sheahan is positioning herself as a ‘Trump conservative’ which could resonate with some voters, but Kaptur has longstanding ties to the district. I’m curious to see how this all shakes out.
You’re right, this is going to be a closely watched race. Sheahan’s ICE experience gives her a unique perspective, but Kaptur’s tenure and connections in the district shouldn’t be underestimated. It will come down to which message connects best with voters.
This race in Ohio’s 9th district is certainly shaping up to be one to watch. The contrast between the young, Trump-aligned Sheahan and the veteran Kaptur will make for an interesting dynamic. I’ll be curious to see how it all plays out.