CINCINNATI — A Republican candidate running in one of the most closely watched House races in the country has defended Trump’s vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance after his opponent. Representative Greg LandsmanHe claimed Vance did not represent the people of southwest Ohio.
,“What I want to say to my opponent is that you have to look in the mirror,” Orlando Sonza said in an interview with Fox News Digital. Long X thread Landsman explained why he believes Vance doesn’t fairly represent southwest Ohio.
In the thread, Landsman called Vance “weird” and said, “Mr. Vance and I live just a few miles from each other. We both grew up in Butler County. But my values — and the values of the people I represent — could not be more different from his.”
“His views and beliefs do not represent southwest Ohio,” Landsman said before launching into criticism of what Vance said.
Orlando Sonza is running against Greg Landsman in Ohio’s 1st Congressional District. (Getty Images)
“I mean, you have to understand that your own policies prove that you are not in step with the people of southwest Ohio,” Sonja said.
Sonja attacked Landsman for a variety of his longstanding views, including on immigration and policing, which she argues are inconsistent with the views of the majority of voters in Ohio’s 1st Congressional District.
,“When you are in favor of an open southern border and you have changed your position on this border issue, and your final stance is that you will not condemn the failed policies of the Biden administration that have led to our open southern border and in direct correlation, again, to the problems that we’re seeing here in southwest Ohio,” Sonja said.
“You have to answer for that. When you have taken the position that you want to completely eliminate excessive government spending, with zero cuts. In fact, when the infighting over the debt ceiling started last year, your first position was to raise the debt ceiling with zero cuts in spending. You have to answer for that.”,
Sonja added, “So who is it that has failed to resonate with Ohio voters? It’s my opponent. So he’s going to have to look in the mirror and answer for this, and he will answer for this. Come November. He’s going to have to answer.”
Sonja also took aim at Landsman, saying he “is not in favor of parents making the best educational decisions for their children and voted against the Parental Bill of Rights.”
“You have to answer for this,” Sonza said. “When you were in favor of defunding the police while you were on the Cincinnati City Council, you have to answer for this when you called for making Cincinnati a sanctuary city in 2017. Greg Landsman, you have to answer for this. So who is it that has failed to resonate with Ohio voters? It’s my opponent. So he has to look in the mirror and answer for this.”
Sonja told Fox News Digital that despite the Democratic Party Criticisms And despite the concerns of some conservatives, Vance was the right choice for the vice presidency.
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Former President Trump and his running mate J.D. Vance (Fox News)
,“J.D. Vance is not just a friend. He is a very strong candidate for vice president, which is why it comes as no surprise to me that President Trump chose him over a long list of potential vice president candidates to be on the ticket with him,” said Sonja, a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army officer.
“We see the strength that comes out of J.D. Vance not only as a father, a veteran, an entrepreneur, but also as someone whose story is similar to mine, who came from nothing and realized the American dream and then through his hard work and dedication, made something of himself in service to community, country, family. But we see what he’s done for Ohio.”
Sonja said Vance has “delivered for the American people” in his “short tenure” in the Senate and that that’s “exactly the type of leadership” the American people are looking for.
“I fully support J.D. Vance being on the ticket,” Sonja said. “I think that’s not only strong for the country, but it’s strong for Ohio as a whole, because at the end of the day, you’ve got to get the job done, and in J.D. Vance’s case, we’ve already seen him get the job done over and over again as our U.S. senator, and I’m confident he’ll do the same as our next vice president.”
The Cook Political Report has the 1st District race labeled “Likely Democrat,” but Republicans have the race “Likely Democrat.” Dedicated Resources Landsman won the 2022 race by just five points.
Ohio’s 1st District includes the city of Cincinnati and all of Warren County.
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Representative Greg Landsman speaking at a press conference. (Getty)
Landsman has attacked Sonza on the abortion issue, while Sonza has made the economy and overall quality of life the top issues in his campaign.
,“It’s not a very bright future unless we change our ways, and that’s the way to do it in November,” Sonja told Fox News Digital. “It depends on whether we give them a strong economy, whether we give them a safe community, whether we give them a better education system than they have now. All of these things really affect not only my generation, not only the generation before me, but the generation after us.”,
“Greg is a bipartisan leader with a record of working for the people of Southwest Ohio,” a Landsman campaign spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“Greg voted to hold Biden accountable on the border, he helped us get a bipartisan border solution, and now he’s trying to get it to the House for a vote. Greg was part of the bipartisan group that found solutions to make sure we avoided a catastrophic miss. During his tenure on the Cincinnati City Council, Greg led the bipartisan budget process that increased police spending by $20 million, and he was the driving force behind adding a second recruiting class right before he was elected to Congress.”
“While Greg is working to do what’s best for his constituents, Sonja, who doesn’t even live in the district, does nothing but speak on right-wing D.C. issues,” the spokesperson said.
