Zach Petroff | Opinions Editor
Jim Jordan and I have a lot in common. We are both from Ohio, we both coached wrestling and we both spend way too much time on social media.
And soon, both Jordan and I may share the experience of what it feels like to fail upward.
After the removal of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the Republican-led House nominated Steve Scalise, a congressman from Louisiana as his successor. Scalise beat Jordan by 113 votes to 99.
This does not mean it is the end for Jordan’s chance to become the next Speaker of the House. With Republicans in control of the House, the next speaker will need to win near-unanimous support from his GOP colleagues.
I think it would behoove the Democrats to ditch their nomination of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and back Jordan to be the 56th Speaker of the House.
Since 2007, Ohioans have had to put up with Jordan, and it is about time the rest of the country witnessed the ineffectiveness that comes with his “leadership.”
If Jordan steps into the spotlight and takes up this key position of leadership in the House, the Ohio congressman could find himself out of job come Janurary. 2025.
Jordan currently resides in one of the safest Republican districts in the country. The fourth district, which spans across central Ohio resembling the shape of a duck, polls at a +14 R rating.
The district has been that way since 2011, when the Republican-controlled General Assembly, along with then Republican Governor John Kasich, redistricted the buckeye state. It created 16 congressional districts: four in Democratic hands and 12 in Republican hands.
Janet Garrett, Jim Jordan’s opponent in the 2014, 2016 and 2018 elections, referred to the races as a “David and Goliath” type situation.
All that is set up to change after data from the 2020 Ohio census has Ohio losing a congressional seat, which means a redrawing of the district map.
In May 2019, a panel of three federal judges ruled that Ohio’s congressional district map was unconstitutional and based on gerrymandering. A new map was expected ahead of the 2020 election. However, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Rucho v. Common Cause that courts could not review allegations of gerrymandering, the district boundaries were not changed until congressional district maps were redrawn in 2022
Jordan’s seat may not be as safe as it has been in recent years. It may take a little more than his usual MAGA rhetoric to stay in office. His record on the Hill leaves much to be desired.
During this current session of Congress, Jordan has introduced just one bill and resolution, the fewest compared to the rest of the Ohio delegation. He has also co-sponsored the fewest bills, has not introduced any bills that have become laws nor introduced any bills that passed a committee and the floor for consideration.
None of Jordan’s bills and resolutions had a companion bill in the Senate.
That’s a lot of nothing for a guy who just yesterday posted seven times on X, formerly known as Twitter.
I understand the hesitancy to allow the Trump-endorsed candidate to serve in a position of leadership. I also understand not wanting a man who refused to cooperate with the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
I also understand why the Democrats would agree with the four former Ohio State wrestlers who accused Jordan of failing to protect them from a sexual predator, that he has no business being the next Speaker of the House.
Politics is not about compromise; it is about winning. And if the Democrats are looking for long-term success while simultaneously dealing a blow to the Freedom Caucus, they need to cause as much tension among its MAGA members as possible
He is an inefficient leader whose inability to properly legislate is guarded by his gerrymandered district and the rabid fan base he caters to. It is my opinion that if the rest of the country could see just how ineffective this man is, it could sway just enough voters to get him out of congress and allow him much more time to be on X, formerly known as Twitter.
There is a saying in wrestling – quick to the pin, slow to the fall – and I think that is a sound strategy for the Democrats to adopt when dealing with the new Speaker of the House: Quickly elect Jim Jordan as the Speaker of the House and slowly watch him fall.