Rep. Kucinich vows to stay in Ohio

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D) said Wednesday he wouldn’t pursue a House seat in another state despite being denied the opportunity to run for reelection in Ohio.

Kucinich lost his primary on Tuesday to fellow Ohio Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, whose district was merged with his by GOP mapmakers in redistricting last year. Before opting to face Kaptur in the primary, Kucinich had toyed with the idea of running instead in Washington state. 

{mosads}That prompted some speculation Wednesday that his loss to Kaptur might lead him to make a late bid for an open seat outside of Ohio.

But Kucinich spokesman Andy Juniewicz pointed out that to run in another state, the eight-term congressman would have to resign his seat in Ohio, relocate and establish residency.

“He intends to continue serving the people of this district in Congress,” said Juniewicz.

Asked if that meant Kucinich would regroup and prepare for a comeback bid in 2013, Juniewicz said Kucinich wouldn’t address that until January, once his current term has expired.

Kaptur defeated Kucinich 56-40 on Tuesday for a redrawn seat spanning from Cleveland to Toledo. Kaptur trounced him in the Toledo area — her home base — shutting out almost all votes for Kucinich. But in Cleveland — Kucinich’s stronghold — Kaptur took almost one out of three voters.

Kucinich made clear on Wednesday he wasn’t second-guessing whether he should have been more aggressive in targeting Kaptur on her home turf, taking a veiled swipe at Kaptur’s campaign, which his team has repeatedly charged with dishonest tactics.

“He said, ‘That’s not me. That’s not the kind of campaign I ran. I have zero regrets about the campaign that we ran. It was honest and it had integrity,’ ” Juniewicz said.