Former Cleveland mayor and area congressman Dennis Kucinich is running for Congress again.
He has filed paperwork to run for the congressional seat held by Republican Max Miller.
Kucinich is running as an independent.
In the fabric of Cleveland politics over the last 55 years, Kucinich has been the common thread. Elected to city council while still in college in 1969, he would go on to be elected the youngest mayor of a major city in 1977 at just 31.
His tenure was a brief and bumpy one as the city went into default as Kucinich refused the pressure to sell Cleveland Public Power to pay down the debt. His actions led to his defeat in 1979 to George Voinovich.
He would go on to serve as a state senator, eight terms in the U.S. Congress and make two runs for the Democratic presidential nomination.
Redistricting in 2012 forced Kucinich into a failed re-election effort against fellow Democrat Marcy Kaptur. He ran for the Democratic nomination for Ohio governor in 2018, losing to Richard Cordray, before announcing a bid for Cleveland mayor again in 2021.
Yes, the man who was once Cleveland’s youngest mayor announced a bid to become its oldest.
“People have said again and again that I was ahead of my time. Well this is our time," he said at the announcement.
He would place third in the primary behind Council President Kevin Kelley and the eventual winner, Justin Bibb.
Last year Kucinich took on the role of campaign manager to then Democratic Presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. leaving last fall as Kennedy shifted to a run as an independent.
At 77, Kucinich is set to announce next week his own run as an Independent for the 7th District Congressional seat currently held by Republican Max Miller.
Kucinich would face not just Miller but also the winner of the March Democratic Primary between businessman Doug Bugie and MIller’s 2022 opponent, Matthew Diemer.
An uphill task in this district especially, said News 5 Political Analyst Tom Sutton.
“It’s an R+15 so considered a safe district for Republicans," Sutton said. "So I really don’t see any candidate being able to beat Miller in a district that has these lines and certainly not someone, even with the name recognition that Kucinich has, to be running as an independent.”
Yes, of the 435 Members of Congress, 433 are either Republican or Democrat. The two seats that aren’t? Well, they’re currently vacant.
Congressman Miller's campaign forwarded a statement to News 5 that reads in part. "My constituents are my first priority. I am proud of the work my team and I have done for them on the ground in Ohio and representing them (in) DC during my first year in office."
