Jeffries likes Democrats' chances in race for the House as he campaigns in Ohio

TOLEDO, Ohio -- House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Sunday the election climate is holding firm for Democrats as he campaigned for Rep. Marcy Kaptur in a heavily contested Ohio congressional district that is crucial for majority control of the House.

Jeffries also slapped back at President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to waive sanctions on Russia and said there will be a bipartisan effort in the House to pursue a new sanctions package that the president would not have the ability to waive.

“It’s shocking, but not surprising, that an American president would do so much to undermine the cause of democracy, freedom and dignity for the Ukrainian people,” Jeffries told The Associated Press after visiting church services in Toledo.

Jeffries, who is in line to become House speaker if Democrats win back the majority, has traveled to some 50 cities campaigning for Democratic candidates. He said the House Republicans are “divorced from reality” in thinking — as Speaker Mike Johnson recently suggested — that the Nov. 3 election will be a repeat of the 2024 sweep that put Trump in the White House and Republicans in Congress.

“We are working hard across the county, continuing to make the case that we need dramatic change as opposed to the status quo,” Jeffries said, “and that Democrats are going to be the only ones to fight to make this country affordable.”

The Buckeye State is being fiercely contested in these midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. While much attention has been on the Senate race between Republican Sen. Jon Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown, the House races are a district-by-district slog key to unlocking control of that chamber.

The Toldeo-area House seat has been a top priority. Kaptur, who has held office for decades, is the longest-serving woman in the House. But Trump has carried the district and Republicans are trying to flip it. Kaptur defeated GOP candidate Derek Merrin two years ago, but he is making a repeat play for the seat.

“We work very hard,” Kaptur told AP. “We don’t just work at elections. We work to make a difference in the lives of people.”

In August, Kaptur, 80, was heading to church when the vehicle she was riding in as a passenger was struck. She was hospitalized with injuries suffered in the car accident, but said she has since recovered.

Jeffries said Kaptur is a legendary figure in the Great Lakes Region. “Once again, she's going to defy all expectations,” he said.

The area has been home to a large Ukrainian American population, and Kaptur is founder and co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, a bipartisan group of lawmakers with particular focus on the country.

She had harsh words for Trump’s decision late Friday to waive provisions of the Russia sanctions bill named for Lindsey Graham, which Congress had passed to help Ukraine as it battles Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

“What he did is just un-American,” she said. “He has sided with Putin.”

Members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, expressed outrage over the weekend at Trump’s decision to waive the sanctions, which were due to take effect Sunday. The president had just signed the bill into law last month.

Johnson said Sunday on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that a number of his colleagues have raised concerns. He said he had yet to talk about it with Trump, but said he knows the president is evaluating the situation.

“We need to talk about it and I think carefully consider the unintended consequences,” Johnson said.