Feb. 16—LIMA — Tamie Wilson, Democratic candidate for Congress, is holding events around Lima as she prepares for the March primary election.

Wilson, who is running against Steve Thomas for the nomination to challenge Jim Jordan‘s seat in the fourth district of Ohio, met with the Lima Area Black Ministerial Alliance on Friday night and will hold a meet-and-greet at The Met on Wednesday, Feb. 21.

“I just want to emphasize that I’m here doing the work already,” she said. “I am just getting back from Washington where I worked on writing nine bills to get introduced to help women’s rights get on the ballot. And I have testified for the redistricting hearing and am also collecting signatures for that.

Wilson, who describes herself as a moderate Democrat, said that her background as a small business owner and a minority woman informs her policies championing entrepreneurship and improving the economy.

“I have a real estate background so I think it’s really important to work with developers to bring affordable housing and jobs to the district,” she said. “As a minority small business owner, I think it’s really important that we invest in minorities more than we are. I think it’s also important to invest in women business owners because we are community leaders and problem solvers with businesses catered toward community development.”

Wilson, who previously challenged Jordan in 2022, said that her experience with the pandemic made her realize that the government should work for the people more than it did at the time.

“I’m just a one-woman shop and none of the COVID relief came to me because I didn’t have any employees,” she said. “And I feel there are a lot of areas where it seems like the government dropped the ball. We should all work hard and do our best to contribute to society, but when something like that happens, especially when the government is involved, it should work for us.”

Calling herself a common sense candidate, Wilson said that she is in favor of cutting taxes, reducing crime and violence and securing the border, as well as issues like saving social security and Medicare. But she also said that she can relate to average voters, even a Trump supporter, on a personal level, in a way Jim Jordan cannot.

“I know what it’s like to have to figure out how many pennies you have for gas and food,” she said. “Jim Jordan doesn’t understand having to clear out your week to pay for your bills and groceries. My mom has cancer and expensive medications so she has to apply for financial aid and I don’t think anyone should have to choose between medication and food.”

To learn more about Wilson, visit her campaign website.

The primary election will be March 19.

Reach Jacob Espinosa at 567-242-0399.