JR Majewski seems to have found a way to explain away his claims about serving in Afghanistan. His most loyal fans.
The first-time candidate told a crowd of roughly 40 people who had gathered in a Toledo cafe for a "meet and greet" that his campaign was not about his military veteran status. That's despite Majewski's campaign slogan being "Conservative Veteran for Congress."
The US Air Force doesn't have a record of Majewski's service in Afghanistan, despite his claims. According to military records obtained by the Associated Press, he served mostly in Japan before loading planes in the Middle East.
Most of the people who attended the Tuesday event were Majewski's supporters and local GOP officials who spoke about the importance of defeating Kaptur. He was still their man despite his questionable claims.
Tim Fouts is a 67-year old Republican who lives in Toledo. He served his country. He completed his service. Do you know what you did?
Many of the candidate's supporters pointed to false statements Kaptur made about a Republican opponent over a decade ago and Majewski's assertion that his military records should have been protected.
Donna Owens, a Republican who was mayor of Toledo in the 1980s, said that he was not the man she had painted him to be.
The calculations of the House Republicans' campaign arm have been affected by the issue.
The National Republican Campaign Committee canceled almost a million dollars in planned TV ads for Majewski after the initial AP report. The presence of Majewski outside the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Majewski brushed off the ad cancellation in an interview.
He said that he's over the money pull. I don't think that's as big of an issue as it might appear to be.
He struggled to defend his prior descriptions of his military service, particularly his claim that he didn't have running water in Afghanistan.
I don't understand how that could be, you know, whether there was running water or not. "I challenge anyone who hasn't been to war, who hasn't served this country, to go to the Middle East in the early 2000s, and do what we did, and not come home and be proud of your accomplishments."
He said that taking a shower with running water or not is not the highlight of his career. No offense to you.
One of the GOP House nominees who were at the Capitol on January 6 was Majewski, who painted pro-Trump images onto his lawn in Port Clinton.
He previously worked for an energy company, has appeared in a pro-Trump rap video, and has a colorful online history that includes involvement with a conspiracy theory that claims that former President Donald Trump is working to defeat a group of Satan-worshipping, pedo.
—Oliver Willis (@owillis) May 4, 2022
After years of yelling at his television, he decided to run for the House. Initially a long shot candidate against Kaptur in a deep blue district that snaked along Lake Erie, he benefited from Republican-led redistricting and split opposition in the GOP primary to become the party's unlikely nominee
Majewski traveled around the district in a camper with a picture of himself shaking hands with Trump.
Kevin McCarthy, the House Minority Leader, said the first-time candidate "understands what Ohio needs" when he visited the district in August.
The AP report revealed discrepancies in Majewski's military record and that he was told he couldn't re-enlist. Records show that he was reprimanded for drunk driving on a US air base in Japan and that he lied about it.
The Cook Political Report shifted the race from "toss-up" to "lean Democratic" after the NRCC ad pullout.
You need to support your candidate when there is a toss-up race. They don't see it the same way as I do. They should've attacked her immediately.
According to documents filed with the Federal Election Commission, Majewski hasn't been able to raise money since the report. Insider reported in August that Majewski had violated federal law by failing to file a financial disclosure and that he and his wife have up to $750,000 in debt.
Many local Republicans are standing behind Majewski despite the fact that national Republicans seem to have given up on him. At the Toledo event, Majewski was joined by two local GOP state House candidates and the Ohio GOP chairman, who Majewski praised at the beginning of the event for helping to arrange a telephone town hall with Trump.
Majewski pointed to the chairman and said that the man made one call. Paduchik praised Majewski for having "stood tough" despite the "slings and arrows that the Democrats and the corporate media have thrown at him"
It was part of Majewski's story.
His record was embellished by his opponents and the national media in order to attack him. He said Kaptur had an obligation to help him.
When the Associated Press leaks my records, you would think that she would intervene and represent me, which is what a respectable congresswoman would have done, he said.
Majewski was mimicking Trump's approach when it came to scandal, by suggesting that an attack on him was an attack on all who supported him. He said that JR Majewski lied about his military record, which was sponsored by Kaptur for Congress.
Imagine how she will treat you if that is how I'm treated.
Kaptur brushed off Majewski's accusation in an interview with Insider.
She said there is an expression about making your own bed and lying in it. His record has something to say.
Majewski said that the NRCC is still behind him. Michael McAdams, spokesman for the NRCC, told Insider that the committee has made a six-figure investment in the district to defeat Kaptur, but gave no further details.
There was a lack of enthusiasm in Majewski's delivery. He brought up his military service controversy on a number of occasions while extolling the virtues of a recent TV ad that he hopes will put his troubles behind him.
He denied that he went to Afghanistan with a combat knife. I have never said that I was a Navy Seal. The media pushed that innuendo.
As attendees asked questions about the controversy, Majewski became even more frustrated.
He said that any more discussion by him is giving oxygen to a fire that should have been out. They want that.
Even to this day, Majewski has associated himself with fringe figures, including an appearance earlier this month on the Stew Peters Show, where his interview was sandwiched between segments claiming that humans are being genetically modified via vaccines and that the war in Ukraine is an anti- Christian plot.
He painted a picture of Trump on his lawn in 2020.
—andrew kaczynski (@KFILE) May 8, 2022
Majewski shrugged off the lawn imagery when asked if he was a supporter of Qanon. He was asked why he painted the imagery on his lawn.
He said that the Q was enough to take a picture. There's one scenario where there's a picture of it and I don't like it. The answer is clear. I don't think it's a good idea.
Majewski told a local news outlet that he was responsible for 60-70 people at the Capitol on January 6 and that he had many people get injured. He said on the livestream that he was angry at himself for not entering the building.
He told Insider that he was trying to show how strong groupthink is when he was in a group of people.
He said there was a second where it was like: do I go in or not? I made the right decision at the end of the day. I did not go in.
Kaptur painted her opponent as extreme because of his January 6 ties.
He was at the Capitol on January 6. She said that he was outside while she was inside. I'm very worried that someone like that would run.
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