MANSFIELD — Jim Jordan has spent his political career doing what he did as a high school and college wrestling champion — attack.
“You don’t win wrestling matches standing around. You gotta be on the offense. I learned that a long, long time ago and I try to have the same attitude in politics,” the 58-year-old congressman said Wednesday evening before the annual Richland County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner.
Jordan, a Champaign County resident, has represented Ohio’s sprawling 4th District since 2006, a newly configured, conservative district that will once again include Richland County, as well as Ashland County.
Before his speech at the Kingwood Center Gardens in front of a packed house of local Republicans and Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, the congressman said he was happy to be back in Richland County.
The district now includes Ashland, Richland, Morrow, Marion, Hardin, Allen, half of Shelby, Logan, Auglaize, Allen, Champaign, half of Delaware and Union counties.
Richland County is divided into two districts, represented by Troy Balderson (R-Zanesville, 12th District) and Bob Gibbs (R-Lakeville, 7th District).
Jordan is unopposed on the May 3 primary ballot and will compete in November against one of two Democratic challengers — Jeffrey Sites or Tamie Wilson.
“Hopefully, I’m gonna get a chance to represent this great county again. I hated losing Richland County a few years back. We have got a lot of friends here,” Jordan said.
Jordan posted a 150-1 record while winning four Ohio high school state titles wrestling for St. Paris Graham. In college he won two NCAA championships at the University of Wisconsin. In politics, he’s become a firebrand conservative leader in Washington D.C..
He is currently the ranking minority member on the House Judiciary Committee and the Oversight Committee. He will likely chair the judiciary panel if Republicans regain control of the House in November and he wins re-election.
His right-leaning political positions, including his continued support of former President Donald Trump, have earned him countless enemies on the left in the Democratic Party.
It’s also made Jordan a target by a House and Senate both currently controlled by the Democrats.
He was rejected by the Democrats for participation on the special committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. He has thus far balked at testifying before the panel regarding phone conversations he had with the former president on that day.
Jordan shrugged when asked if he foresaw his political future when he decided to run for Congress — and helped to form the Freedom Caucus.
“No, I just try to do what I said I would do,” he said. “I try to represent the families that gave me the privilege of being their member of Congress. That’s what I try to do. Hopefully, I’ll get a chance to do it another term and get a chance to represent the folks in Richland County again.”
Introduced by state Sen. Mark Romanchuk (R-Ontario), Jordan’s 35-minute speech hit conservative high notes in a county Trump won easily in 2016 and 2020, including Dr. Anthony Fauci and the COVID-19 response.
“I am so sick of the ‘experts’ running the country, right? When did Dr. Fauci ever put his name on a ballot? He ever go out and get signatures, put his name on a ballot and campaign … talk to the people, stand for election and get elected to office? Never.
“He is the highest paid official in our government and he’s never once had to answer directly to ‘We, the people,'” Jordan said, promising a congressional investigation into the origins of coronavirus if the GOP takes back the House.
Jordan also claimed Democrats are out of touch with most of the country.
“The Democratic Party is now largely made up of the super elite who think they’re better than us … who live on the coast, live in Philadelphia and New York and D.C. and LA and San Francisco and Seattle … the super wealthy elite … and people who don’t work.
“(Republicans are) becoming the party of everybody else. And that is a good place to be. That is just regular Americans,” Jordan said.
Jordan pointed out recent remarks by late-night TV talk show host Stephen Colbert.
“He said, ‘I don’t care if gas goes to $15 a gallon because I drive a Tesla.’ Well, Tesla’s a great car, but most people don’t drive Teslas.
“Out here (in Ohio), people get up and go to work who can’t Zoom it in … who can’t work remotely. You’re in agriculture, you’re in manufacturing, you’re in construction and you’re driving goods around the country. You can’t phone it in, you can’t proxy vote like everyone does in D.C.,” Jordan said.
“People who make it, move it and grow it have to go to work. (Democrats) have this true dislike, and I say disdain, for us … people in flyover country who love what this country offers its citizens. And because of that, they will weaponize the government against us,” he said.
Jordan also said 1st Amendment freedoms are under assault by the left.
“Freedom of speech is the most important. And that’s why the left comes after it. Today, the left says, ‘If you don’t agree with me, you can’t speak. And if you try, we’re gonna call you a racist and we’re gonna try to cancel you.’
“It is frightening. And so what happens is so many people just kind of tamp it down. The chilling impact that has on speech is scary. It is frightening,” Jordan said.
Despite the current challenges, Jordan said the United State is still the greatest country in the world.
“I always tell folks, remember it’s still America, it’s still the greatest thing going. In spite of 14 and a half months of craziness and everything (being done) is bad.
“We just wanna be positive … positive people, get things done. Negative people are negative. Positive people are fun to be around. Negative people are negative. So we need to be positive,” he said, quoting former football coach Lou Holtz.
“Lou Holtz said, ‘Quit complaining about your problems, 90 percent of the people don’t care and 10 percent are glad you got them,'” Jordan said.
He finished his speech by talking about the fact it only took America 66 years to go from the Wright brothers flying in the first airplane to landing and walking on the moon.
“No other country has ever done anything close to that. And frankly, no other country could, because they don’t have the freedom and the opportunities that we’ve always had in America.
“That’s what’s at stake. That’s why we’re involved in the party that stands for freedom. That’s why we’re involved in this process. And that’s why we’re willing to stand up to the left because it means so much.”
