Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Deputy Director Madison Sheahan on Thursday resigned her post and launched a campaign for Congress in Ohio, jumping into a crowded Republican primary for a seat that became more GOP-friendly after a recent redistricting push.<\/p>\n
In a video announcing<\/a> her campaign launch, Sheahan highlighted her time at ICE and slammed Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the Ohio congresswoman whom she\u2019s aiming to unseat.<\/p>\n \u201cIn less than one year at ICE, I\u2019ve stopped more illegal immigration than Marcy Kaptur has in her 43 years in Washington,\u201d Sheahan said in the video. \u201cIn Congress, hypocrisy, excuses and failure can earn you a lifetime job, but on my family farm that would put us out of business.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOhio neighborhoods are safer, thanks to President [Donald] Trump and ICE,\u201d Sheahan added later in her video.<\/p>\n Her campaign launch brings the number of Republicans running in the district\u2019s primary \u2014 which is slated to take place on May 5 \u2014 to more than half a dozen.<\/p>\n The GOP primary field includes state Rep. Josh Williams and Derek Merrin, a former state lawmaker who was the GOP nominee against Kaptur in 2024.<\/p>\n A Kaptur campaign spokesperson said in a statement, \u201cWhile Republicans from near and far will fight through a messy primary in this district they gerrymandered again just this fall, Congresswoman Kaptur is focused on delivering real results for her constituents. She\u2019s working to lower costs for working families, protect access to affordable health care, and bring transformative investments to Northwest Ohio.\u201d<\/p>\n House Republicans are heading into the election year with a slim majority<\/a>, compounded by dozens of retirements<\/a> on both sides of the aisle. Trump has expressed concern in recent days that the GOP could lose control of the House.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s some deep psychological thing, but when you win the presidency, you don\u2019t win the midterms,\u201d Trump told Reuters on Wednesday. <\/a>Earlier this month, the president told House Republicans<\/a> in a speech that Democrats would seek to impeach him if they flip control of the chamber.<\/p>\n Ohio\u2019s 9th District is one that Republicans have targeted for several cycles and has consistently been a battleground district.<\/p>\n In 2024, Kaptur beat Merrin in the general election by less than a percentage point<\/a> while Trump carried the district by a wider margin. The congresswoman is one of a handful of Democrats currently serving in a district that the president won in 2024.<\/p>\n During a wave of partisan redistricting<\/a> across the country last year, Republicans in Ohio redrew the 9th District\u2019s boundaries to make the seat more favorable for the GOP. Under the old district lines, Trump won Kaptur\u2019s district by 7 percentage points, according to NBC News\u2019 Decision Desk. But under the new district lines, Trump would have won the seat by 11 percentage points.<\/p>\n The nonpartisan Cook Political Report <\/a>rates the race in this year\u2019s midterm elections a \u201cToss Up.\u201d<\/p>\n