Opponents accuse each other of being out of touch

13th District race features incumbent Ryan going against Hagan and Fricke

Christina Hagan, the Republican challenging nine-term incumbent Tim Ryan, said the Democrat “has failed basic representation.”

Ryan, D-Howland, said Hagan of Marlboro Township, “is out of step with the district. She’s completely out of touch.”

The two are facing each other in the race for the 13th Congressional District seat.

Also, Michael Fricke of Kent is on the ballot as a Libertarian but said he expects to get 5 percent to 7 percent of the vote and doesn’t plan to raise even $5,000 for his campaign.

Ryan touts his nearly 18 years of experience as a member of Congress and his position on the House Appropriations Committee as putting the district — and particularly the Mahoning Valley — in a place where it can grow after the closure of Lordstown General Motors.

Between Lordstown Motors Corp’s all-electric Endurance being built at the former GM plant and Ultium Cells LLC — a joint venture between GM and LG Chem — under construction nearby as well as a TJX HomeGoods distribution center, “we’ve got a hell of a shot to build an ecosystem and create thousands of jobs,” Ryan said.

“We’re finally diversifying into areas of the economy that are growing,” he said. “There are a lot of job opportunities out there in our area.”

The five-county 13th District includes most of Mahoning and Trumbull counties. The job pays $174,000 annually.

To change representation now, Ryan said, would be the wrong decision.

“I’ve got a long substantive record,” he said. “She doesn’t live in the district.”

Hagan lives about a mile outside the 13th District. She ran and lost in the 2018 Republican primary for the 16th District seat. She doesn’t live in that district either.

But Hagan said: “It’s a gimmick at best to say I’m foreign to this district.”

If she wins the election, Hagan said she would move into the district and is already starting to look for homes near Alliance.

Hagan said voters are “ready for a fresh change. Congressman Tim Ryan has failed basic representation. He was elected as a pro-life, pro-gun candidate, and he’s abandoned those positions.”

She also said Ryan being on the Appropriations Committee “hasn’t helped our district. Whether he’s in a position of power or not, he’s not succeeded.”

Ryan said he’s brought back more than $4.6 billion in federal funds for the district, largely because of his seat on Appropriations.

Hagan served in the Ohio House from March 2011 to December 2018.

If elected to Congress, Hagan said her priorities would be to revive the region’s economy, create a bipartisan infrastructure bill and tackle regulatory reform.

Not enough has been done “to bring back manufacturing jobs to our region or train unemployed workers with new skills,” Hagan said. “These are easy common sense solutions that we can achieve to fix the problem.”

Hagan wants to work with President Donald Trump, who supports her candidacy, to make his tax cuts permanent. Ryan says the tax cuts primarily benefited the wealthy.

Hagan also wants to sponsor a bipartisan infrastructure bill to improve roads, rail and internet access. One option to pay for the costs would be to reallocate funds the nation is spending in Afghanistan.

Trump had talked of a major infrastructure bill during his first presidential campaign and the early part of his administration but hasn’t introduced a proposal.

Ryan also supports an infrastructure bill and spoke with Trump’s team at the 2017 inauguration about putting one together but never heard from anyone again.

“Trump had an opportunity because he won traditional Democratic areas, but he missed with infrastructure,” Ryan said.

The Ohio Freedom Fund, a Washington, D.C.-based outside special interest group that helped Hagan in the Republican primary, also is working to get her elected in the general election.

The fund spent $97,500 to support Hagan in the primary and is expected to spend at least that much in the general election.

“It’s a dark money group that has a relationship with her,” Ryan said.

Hagan said the fund wants “to see new leadership in the district. They see this as a potential pickup seat.”

During her failed bid in 2018 for the 16th District seat, the Conservative Leadership Alliance, a dark money group with ties to FirstEnergy, spent more than $100,000 against her.

“I have general concerns about dark money,” Hagan said. “Transparency should be part of it. But I have no control over (the Ohio Freedom Fund). I have no contract with them.”

This is Fricke’s first time running for elected office.

A Libertarian, Fricke acknowledges that he’s going to raise little money and won’t do well in the election.

“I’m a realist,” he said. “I’m probably not going to be elected. Libertarians take 5, 6, 7 percent of the vote. Eventually, major party candidates are going to want that 5, 6, 7 percent, and they’ll pay attention to us for that. People aren’t going to vote for me to win but to make a change.”

Fricke is campaigning on bringing back troops home and ending the nation’s involvement in wars in the Middle East, balancing the federal budget and supporting personal freedoms. That includes no restrictions on same-sex marriages and no government censorship or regulation of social media and technology. He also wants to decriminalize marijuana and strongly supports a person’s right to bear arms.

Tim Ryan

AGE: 47

POLITICAL PARTY: Democrat

OCCUPATION: Congressman

PREVIOUS ELECTED EXPERIENCE: Nine-term congressman, former Ohio state senator

GOALS: Focus on making the Mahoning Valley an electronic vehicle and battery hub, job growth and improved health and wellness

NOTABLE QUOTE: “The plan is to diversify and that’s what we’re doing.”

Christina Hagan

AGE: 31

POLITICAL PARTY: Republican

OCCUPATION: Fund development manager for ICU Mobile

PREVIOUS ELECTED EXPERIENCE: State representative from March 2011 to December 2018

GOALS: Revive the economy in Northeast Ohio, support an infrastructure bill and regulatory reform

NOTABLE QUOTE: “I would provide a unique voice in Congress.”

Michael Fricke

AGE: 46

POLITICAL PARTY: Libertarian

OCCUPATION: Senior scientist at Olon Ricerca Bioscience

PREVIOUS ELECTED EXPERIENCE: None

GOALS: Bring home the military, balance the budget and supporting personal freedoms

NOTABLE QUOTE: “I want to give people options.”