Former Ohio Republican Congresswoman Jean Schmidt says she will run again for a seat at the Statehouse.
The 67-year-old Schmidt says she will run in 2020 for the Ohio House seat held by term-limited Republican John Becker.
Schmidt had served two terms in the House before winning a 2005 election to replace Republican Rob Portman after he became U.S. Trade Representative. Portman is now a U.S. Senator.
In Washington, she caused a firestorm in 2005 after saying on the floor that "cowards cut and run, Marines never do" in response to Pennsylvania Democrat John Murtha's push back on the GOP's efforts to withdrawal troops from Iraq. Murtha was a U.S. Marine veteran.
The Federal Election Commission in 2016 fined Schmidt for not reporting legal assistance from a pro-Turkish group. The Turkish Coalition of America aided Schmidt in several legal disputes. A political opponent leveled the accusation as part of a dispute over Schmidt's support of Turkey in Congress. Schmidt reported she had repaid the coalition nearly 43 thousand dollars in legal fees and expenses. But the group provided her more than 650 thousand worth of free legal services.
