Judy: As you heard Lisa report
earlier, one congressional
district in the largely
Republican state of Ohio proved
to be a bright spot for
Democrats last night in their
efforts to maintain control of
the house.
Democrats flipped the seat long
held by GOP congressman, Steve
Chapek.
I spoke with the winner of that
race, representative elect Greg
landsman moments ago.
Representative elect Greg
landsman, thank you very much
for joining us.
Congratulations on your victory.
We know this is a house district
that had been redistricted.
The lines were redrawn.
Why do you think you won in a
district that essentially had
gone Republican for half -- a
quarter of a century?
Mr. Landsman: I think a couple
things.
Redistricting was significant.
And the city I have been
representing as a member of city
council for the last five years
was wholly in one congressional
district for the first time in a
long time.
That made a big difference.
I also think congressman shop it
who had been in D.C. For decades
had really drifted to the far
right.
On January 6, he sided with the
insurrectionists and Donald
Trump, voting to overturn
election.
Which for me was disqualifying,
in for a lot of independents and
many Republicans, was too much.
His position on choice, very
extreme.
I think it was a combination of
the district and the fact that
he was a big lie, antichoice
extremists.
Folks don't want that.
If you are in a competitive
district as he found himself in,
voters are going to say no, that
is not who we are.
I think that is an important
message for the country.
Judy: It is also the case that
in Ohio, voters elect --
reelected a Republican governor,
and elected a new Republican
senator.
How do you put all of that
together?
You are a Democrat, elected
where you were elected.
Yet, the state looks like it is
going very red.
Mr. Landsman: Yeah.
The state is just so different
from anyone pocket.
In southwest Ohio, the city of
Cincinnati, the eastern suburbs
of our county,, up to Warren
county, it is trending bluer.
It is just a lot of folks who,
regardless of political
affiliation are done with the
chaos and extremism that I think
voters across the country
rejected.
One of the reasons why we did
not see or are not seeing this
big red wave, folks are really
wanting a new generation of
leaders who were going to work
and be done with all of that
nonsense.
There's so much at stake and I
think the expectation is that we
get to work.
Judy: You discussed what
congressman Chapa's positions
were, that you think her 10.
What about you?
What do you think the arguments
you made that did resonate with
voters?
Mr. Landsman: I think a couple
things.
I had a proven track record.
I had built a broad coalition,
Republicans, Democrats,
independents, to pass what we
call the preschool promise,
which is two years of qualities
preschool -- quality preschool.
And had done similar work on
other big issues, and voters
knew that about me.
They trusted me.
I think that made a big
difference.
On the economy, I spoke to the
larger issue of what's wrong.
And why this economy has been
broken for decades.
Not just because of this
pandemic, but we have got
decades of wage stagnation and
cost that are too much for too
many of our families.
Fixing the economy resonated
with voters.
We talked a lot about that.
I also did, everywhere I went,
reminded folks hey, look, this
is a canary in the coal mine
situation.
We can say to the country, this
is a competitive district.
You have on one hand a big lie
antichoice extremist.
If we retire him, it does
provide a cautionary tale to
other folks who want to jump
into the election denying game.
And that is hey, don't do that.
In the same thing on choice.
Don't take away people's
freedoms.
Judy: You go to Washington to
serve in the house.
It looks as if the Republicans
are likely to take control, to
take the majority in the house.
It may not be a very big
majority.
But whether you are in the
minority or majority, how
confident are you that you can
make a difference?
We are, at this moment, as you
have been alluding to, at such a
divided time in this country.
Mr. Landsman: I do think there
is a lot of hope and what
happened last night.
Certainly I experienced it here
in Cincinnati where a lot of
Republicans were very eager to
send somebody that was very
pragmatic and just about the
work to congress.
They were very clear about that.
We like the campaign you are
running, we like your
disposition, you seem like you
are an adult, and you don't seem
to get into all of these
partisan fights.
I think we will see more folks
like me getting elected, because
the last few years have been too
much for a lot of voters.
Whether we are in the majority
or not, the majority is going to
be slim.
It is going to require folks to
work together.
I think you are going to see a
group of Republicans and
Democrats come together on some
shared priorities, whether it is
immigration reform, hopefully
the child tax credit, it could
be additional funding for police
and fire.
There are a bunch of issues
where we agree, and it would be
great to see, and I will push
for, a bipartisan effort in the
next congress, to get some big
things done that voters expect
us to do as we fix this economy.
Judy: Very quick last question,
do you expect to support Nancy
Pelosi, whether she is in --
whether your party is in the
minority or majority?
Mr. Landsman: I have not gotten
that far yet.
It is hard to, as an incoming
new member of congress, really
understand how all of that plays
out.
That is going to be part of my
learning curve.
I am grateful for all of the
support I got nationally that
really made a big difference in
helping us get over the finish
line.
My goal is to go to D.C., vote
for the folks back here, I don't
take corporate pack money, so
that was a big issue.
We need somebody who is going to
vote for us.
And then to come home every week
and get as much walk -- much
work done here as I possibly
can.
Something we have not had
appeared that's my focus.
Judy: I don't hear a commitment
there to support her, whether it
is for leader or the speaker.
Mr. Landsman: I have not even
been asked the question by
anyone in the leadership.
Excited to figure out where all
of that saints.
Judy: Representative elect Greg
landsman, thank you again for
joining us, and congratulations.
Mr. Landsman: Thank you, Judy.
Judy: Tomorrow, we will speak
with Republican representative
elect Michael waller who won a
seat in a formerly deep blue
district outside New York City,
blocking out a democratic leader
in the process.