Dennis Kucinich, formerly a congressman and Cleveland mayor, announced on Jan. 24 that he will run as an independent against incumbent Max Miller, R-Rocky River, for Ohio’s 7th Congressional District in the November election.
“I am uniquely able to reach in and to help heal the partisan divide, to bring people together and to help reestablish the sense of unity which is the essence of who we are as the United States,” Kucinich said in his livestream announcement. “The 7th district is familiar territory. I represented over 20 Cuyahoga County communities in that district for 16 years.”
Kucinich filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Jan. 17 for “Re-elect Dennis Kucinich” for the U.S. House of Representatives seat, according to the FEC website.
“As an independent, my voice and vote will become pivotal,” Kucinich said. “... I have the experience and the energy, the knowledge and the temperament and the willingness to serve our community and our nation, once again, to help heal the divisions in our nation.”
Kucinich lost his seat in Congress in 2012 to Marcy Kaptur, D-Toledo, the Cleveland Jewish News previously reported. He represented the west side of Cleveland for eight terms starting in 1996.
He first won a spot on Cleveland City Council in 1969. He ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1972 as a Democrat and 1974 as an independent. He left Cleveland City Council in 1975 and was elected Cleveland mayor in 1977. He became the youngest mayor of a major U.S. city at 31 years old. He lost his reelection bid for mayor in 1979 to George Voinovich.
Kucinich unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2004 and 2008. He ran for Ohio governor in 2018, but lost the Democratic primary. He also entered the 2021 race for mayor of Cleveland, but did not advance past the primary.
Most recently, Kucinich was presidential campaign manager for Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running as an independent in the 2024 presidential election. Kucinich left Kennedy’s campaign in October 2023.
Miller is the only Republican candidate in the race. Matt Diemer and Doug Bugie are running for the Democratic nomination.
Miller, who took office in January 2023, is one of two Jewish Republicans in Congress. Prior to his election, he served in senior roles for former President Donald Trump in the White House and on his campaign, according to a Dec. 21 news release announcing Miller’s reelection bid.
Miller serves on the House Agriculture Committee and the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, and he chairs the subcommittee on the environment for SST. Miller is a U.S. Marine veteran and lives in Rocky River with his wife, Emily, and newborn daughter, Ruth. He is the son of Abraham and Barbara Miller of Shaker Heights. He is a 2007 graduate of Shaker Heights High School and a graduate of Cleveland State University with a major in history.
Diemer is the owner of a small media production company in Bay Village, according to his website. Diemer unsuccessfully ran against Miller for the same seat in 2022. A Cleveland native, he graduated from the University of Hawaii with a degree in political science. He previously worked in China, leading teams of hundreds of employees from dozens of countries before moving from China to Taiwan with a full scholarship to study for his MBA, the CJN previously reported.
Bugie is running on independent views, according to his website. A Bay Village native, he spent about 25 years with the Democratic Party and 20 years with the Republican Party. He has been an entrepreneur for the last 40 years, helping start hundreds of recruiting businesses in the United States and 40 countries, his website stated.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Bugie graduated from Bowling Green State University in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science/comparative religions, and was president of the student body.
