PRESS RELEASE – Representative and House Majority Whip, Josh Williams, announced his candidacy for Ohio’s 9th Congressional District to challenge Democrat Marcy Kaptur.
“Today, as I announce my candidacy for Congress, I promise to continue to be the fighter that Northwest Ohio deserves because I’ve had to fight for ever single thing I’ve earned in my life.”
“Only in America, and by the Grace of God, could a poor black kid from inner-city Toledo rise up and overcome so much.”
“I believe our best days are still ahead of us, but we have to work hard and we have to win. I’m ready to fight. I’m ready to win,” said Rep. Williams.
Rep. Williams is running for Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, which encompasses all or parts of Lucas, Wood, Defiance, Williams, Fulton, Ottawa, Sandusky, and Erie Counties.
Rep. Williams grew up in poverty in inner-city Toledo, dropped out of high school at age 18 due to homelessness, was fully disabled due to a workplace accident for several years in his twenties, and finally went to college at age 30.
By 35 years old he had graduated from University of Toledo Law School with his Juris Doctor and begun practicing law. In 2022 he was elected as the first black Republican State Representative in 50 years, and in 2025 he was sworn in as the first ever black Majority Whip in Ohio history.