Primary Election: Democrats and Republicans battle for top-party spot in US 7th District

The 7th Congressional District's top spot is up for grabs after longtime Rep. Bob Gibbs announced his retirement at the start of April.

Now four candidates, including three political newcomers and a former Trump aide, vie for the Republican spot in the May 3 primary: Charlie Gaddis, Jonah Schulz, Max Miller and Anthony Leon Alexander.

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The Democratic primary is more complicated.

While three names will fill out the ballot, only one may be actively running his campaign – Matthew Diemer.

Here's what you need to know about the Republican and Democratic 7th District primary ballots.

How many Democrats are running in the 7th District primary?

According to Diemer and a cleveland.com endorsement editorial, the two other Democratic candidates, Patrick Malley and Tristan Rader suspended their campaigns in early April.

The editorial stated that Rader suspended his campaign on April 2 while Malley called the newspaper's editorial board announcing his decision to withdraw from the race.

Rader, a city council member in Lakewood, announced on Twitter on April 2 that he would suspend his campaign due to the confusing election cycle.

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"I'm very sad to say, there is no longer much hope for getting fair and constitutional congressional districts in time for the 2022 Primary," Rader wrote on Twitter. In a follow-up Tweet, he suggested that he might run for office again in the future.

Both candidates have yet to notify the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections to suspend their campaigns, said Mike West, community outreach for the board.

"The Plain Dealer newspaper said they dropped out, but until we have something in writing from them they will remain on our candidate list," West wrote in an email.

Malley did not respond to email requests for comment.

Democrat: Matthew Diemer

Matthew Diemer is the sole Democrat running in the 7th District and hopes to rally fellow Democrats and Republicans to his banner.

Born in Cleveland, Diemer's father often moved for work. Living in communities like Chardon, Solon and Bay Village, Diemer said he has experience in urban and rural communities.

"I lived in many of these places, some of my mentors are from rural communities," he said.

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Diemer wasn't always a politician. The decision to run was recent, he said.

He lived in China working as a general manager for large venues before he started a small business that he eventually sold to a company in San Diego. Then he came back to Northeast Ohio.

Because of his time managing a team with language barriers, he said he hopes to bring his communication skills to the 7th District, where he can bridge the party divide.

"No one wants to see anyone else's point of view," Diemer said. "I want to navigate solutions and work together."

If elected, he hopes to bring manufacturing jobs back to the district that were sent abroad to countries like China, he said.

Two solutions for helping residents, he said, are investing in innovative technology and aiding farmers.

"I meet people where they're at," Diemer said. "I want to work with farmers and suppliers to understand where they're coming from."

To learn more about Diemer, visit his campaign website.

Republican: Charlie Gaddis

After a lifetime as an accountant, Charlie Gaddis decided to throw his hat in the 7th District race.

The Republican candidate is hoping to bring a "fresh look" at ongoing problems.

"After 30 years in economics, I'm a problem solver," Gaddis said.

His top policy goals include addressing inflation, rethinking the immigration and tax systems and changing how social benefits work, he said.

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To lower inflation, he hopes to propose a 24-month budget plan that would limit spending across the board while pushing for tax system reform.

Gaddis wants the U.S. to be an entirely energy self-sufficient nation that denies energy access to "bad actors" like the Russian Federation, he said.

At the border with Mexico, he wants to complete a wall separating the two nations while proposing an easier asylum process for immigrants, Gaddis said.

Additionally, he believes the federal government pays too much into retirement benefits and would aim to limit government spending.

Gaddis said he would propose a process where employers pick up part of the fiscal burden of retirement benefits.

To learn more about Gaddis, visit his campaign wesbite.

Republican: Jonah Schulz

At 27 years old, Jonah Schulz is the youngest candidate in the 7th District race.

A Northeast Ohio native, the Republican candidate graduated from the University of Findlay with a degree in marketing and sales, he said.

After graduating, he started a nonprofit. Diamond in the Rough aims to renovate dilapidated baseball fields in underprivileged communities, according to the nonprofit's website.

Between his ongoing nonprofit work and the mandates and shutdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic, Schulz was inspired to run for office.

"I asked myself how I can serve and help others," Schulz said.

He said many of the politicians in Congress are "out of touch" with the average person and day-to-day life.

For him, this was especially true concerning the mask and health-related guidelines and mandates.

"People in Ohio lived under oppressive lockdowns," Schulz said. "I was in Orrville with the Smucker Co. employees who protested the vaccine mandate."

If elected, he said, he would work to ban all such medical mandates or orders to shut businesses and churches down.

Schulz said he hopes to reduce government spending, end many social benefit programs sponsored by the federal government, invest in "efficient and domestic" energy production and rethink the immigration system.

To learn more about Schulz, visit his website.

Republican: Max Miller

Max Miller started his career in the United States Marine Corps Reserve before becoming an aide to President Donald Trump.

When he declared his intention to run in 2021, Trump quickly endorsed his former senior advisor.

A Cleveland native, Miller serves on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, according to his website.

His website outlines a number of key policies he would support if elected.

Miller would support restarting construction on a border wall with Mexico to limit immigration and take aim at corporations that limit free speech. He would support legislation that would ban Critical Race Theory and limiting "anti-American propaganda," a reference to Trump's controversial 1776 Project.

He would limit federal spending and oppose movements to defund the police.

Miller's campaign did not respond to repeated email requests for comment.

To learn more about Miller's campaign, visit his website.

Republican: Anthony Leon Alexander

With a 15-year career in mental health and developmental disability services and 20 years in media that included hosting radio shows, Anthony Leon Alexander hopes to put his skills to use in the 7th District.

The Cleveland native volunteers on the Berea Planning Commission and is on the Berea Tax Incentive Review Council, according to his campaign website.

“People don’t realize how important these positions are for any city as far as sustaining the growth of a city," Alexander said on his website.

If elected, Alexander's primary goal will be to serve his district.

“As a public servant all politicians should have the traits to listen, and have empathy; to building the community; and to what’s in the best interests for the people that voted you in," Alexander said on his website. "I found out they weren’t and that’s why I’m running.”

Among his main policy points is mental health, wages and justice reform. He hopes to increase mental health funding and increase services.

Inflation has not kept up with wages, he said on his website. Alexander would push for a higher minimum wage or "controlled stimulus checks."

Alexander is also in favor of justice reform, which would mean less "police brutality" and more community review boards, according to his website.

To learn more about Alexander, visit his campaign website.

Reach Bryce by email at bbuyakie@gannett.com

On Twitter: @Bryce_Buyakie

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Who is running in the US 7th Congressional District primary?