- Ohio House candidate JR Majewski used an ableist slur to describe Democrats in a recent interview.
- He said that being a Democrat on the internet is “like being in the Special Olympics.”
- “No matter how good you perform, you’re still fucking retarded,” said Majewski.
JR Majewski, a GOP House candidate in Ohio, used an ableist slur to describe Democrats during an interview earlier this week.
He made the remarks toward the end of an episode of the right-wing podcast “Trifecta Hour” that aired on Friday and was suddenly made private on Monday.
“Shout out to all the Democrats living in Mom’s basement that like to talk shit on the Internet. You know, no matter how hard you try, arguing on the Internet, it’s like being in the Special Olympics,” he said. “No matter how good you perform, you still haveā¦ you’re still fucking retarded at the end of the day.”
“Yeah, that’s gonna get clipped and ran against me in the general election,” added Majewski, later adding that his “aunt has Aspergers.”
In a brief statement to Business Insider, Majewski offered an apology.
“My comments were inexcusable and inappropriate, they do not represent my views, and I am deeply sorry,” he said.
Majewski is running in a highly-contested primary in Ohio’s 9th congressional district, which surrounds Toledo, after winning the GOP nomination in a surprise result in 2022.
Yet he was one of the worst-performing candidates of the cycle, losing to Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur by 13 points after the Associated Press revealed that he misrepresented his military service.
Hoping to avoid the same fate again in what’s considered to be a GOP-leaning district, national Republicans recruited former state representative Craig Riedel to run for the seat in 2024.
But after Riedel was caught on tape trashing former President Donald Trump in December, he’s hemorrhaged support, even as he’s vowed to stay in the race. National GOP figures have since recruited state Rep. Derek Merrin, who’s earned the backing of House Speaker Mike Johnson, to run for the seat.
In addition to the lies about his military service, Majewski is a flawed general-election candidate in other ways, including his past embrace of the QAnon conspiracy theory.
Yet in the wake of the Riedel incident, Majewski was quickly embraced by Trump-aligned Republicans in Ohio and across the country, including Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida, and House Freedom Caucus chair Rep. Bob Good of Virginia.
“Look, I’m sure that there are many things that we can do differently as a party, that JR could do differently as a candidate,” Vance told Business Insider in December. “I think he’s going to be the nominee, and I see my job as helping Republican candidates win.”
Majewski has raised just $150,000 ahead of the March 19 primary, according to recent FEC filings.
