Ronald Karpus

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Ronald Karpus

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Democratic Party

Elections and appointments

Last election

April 28, 2020

Personal

Birthplace

Parma, Ohio

Profession

Licensed fire technician

Contact

Campaign website

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Ronald Karpus (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Ohio's 16th Congressional District. He lost in the Democratic primary on April 28, 2020.

Karpus completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Karpus grew up in Parma, Ohio. He attended John Carroll University and Tri-C. His professional includes working as a licensed fire technician in Twinsburg, Ohio. He has also owned a small business, and worked as a technician and site supervisor.

Organizations

As of his 2020 campaign, Karpus was affiliated with the following organizations:

• Central and executive committee member, Cuyahoga County Democratic Party
• Member, Parma Schools Foundation
• Member, Parma Heights Democratic Club

Elections

2020

See also: Ohio's 16th Congressional District election, 2020

Ohio's 16th Congressional District election, 2020 (April 28 Democratic primary)

Ohio's 16th Congressional District election, 2020 (April 28 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Ohio District 16

Incumbent Anthony Gonzalez defeated Aaron Godfrey in the general election for U.S. House Ohio District 16 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Anthony Gonzalez (R)	63.2	247,335
		Aaron Godfrey (D)	36.8	144,071

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 391,406
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 16

Aaron Godfrey defeated Ronald Karpus in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 16 on April 28, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Aaron Godfrey	67.7	32,024
	Submit photo	Ronald Karpus	32.3	15,244

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 47,268
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 16

Incumbent Anthony Gonzalez advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 16 on April 28, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Anthony Gonzalez	100.0	43,026

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 43,026
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

To see a list of endorsements for Ronald Karpus, click here.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ronald Karpus completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Karpus' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Ron is a blue collar worker, lifelong democrat, and father of 6; and running for congress to represent those he's spent his life working along side. Ron knows when families do better, everyone wins.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Healthcare is a right, and every American should be able to afford to go to the doctor.
• Passing common sense gun laws, such as red flag laws and universal background checks.
• We need to invest federal dollars in public  education, so that Ohio families are set up for success before and after graduation.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

When my wife and I met she was a single mom, working 2 jobs and their food budget relied solely on her SNAP benefits. After moving in, SNAP was still a component of our budget. I went from a family of 2 to a family of 6 and we were struggling. She still worked, and I was in my first few years of a company trying to succeed in a down economy.

After 11 months, she started a new job and began working in the healthcare industry. We could finally feed our family on our own dime and 10 years later, I still remember how it felt to pay for our own groceries again.

This was one of the few times in my life I had no backup plan. Unlike now, I didn't worry that my government was going to take away those critical benefits before we were ready.
I've been all across this district and one thing is clear, Ohioans want to work! They want to engage in their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

But under this administration Ohioans are living in fear. We cannot sit back, and allow the lifelines holding families together to be cut prematurely. Even if you've been fortunate to never need those services, the mom down the street, the 79 year old widow, the family whose livelihood has just been slashed when dad's job moved overseas, they do.

This program has its flaws like any other however the administration isn't talking about addressing flaws they are ensuring that so many more of America's most vulnerable go hungry.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I have several hero's all whom I look up to for different situations. My grandfather on my mothers side was a literal genius. He was a mechanical engineer by trade but designed solutions for all types of problems. I would have never understood how far ahead of the rest of the world he was had I not worked maintenance for the company which he designed these things for. They hold multiple patents in his name. The one thing I would tell him given the chance would be that hydrolics are not the solution to every problem. My grandfather on my fathers side was the greatest "man" that ever walked the earth. He was a literal "give the shirt off his back" kind of guy. Whenever there is an ethics situation I need to look no further than what he would do and I have my answer. Of course I have other role models but for the sake of the question those are my heros.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Just a simple quote.

"Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."

- Theodore Roosevelt

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Integrity, Consistency, Common Sense, and the ability to collaborate in a bi-partisan manner; but most importantly growth without fear. The confidence in oneself that will allow them to grow and evolve as an individual and elected official when new information presents itself.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Quite simply, I am not a career politician. I come from my district, I am the epitome of my district. I've had to make so many of the hard decisions that so many face on a day to day basis. I raise my kids, drag myself out of bed and no matter what to go to work and provide for them; and hope that I can guide them to a better future than myself. Because of this real world experience I will have an excellent perspective and ability to fight for the people whom I would represent in Congress.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

1.) To uphold, protect, and defend the United States Constitution.

2.) To never forget who they are there to represent.
3.) To listen to those they represent.

4.) To never put party over country.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That it times of great challenge, I didn't worry about my campaign or my re-election; but that I did whats right.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The Shuttle Challenger explosion when I was five years old.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked at Ground Round as a cook through high school and into college. I only left when I took a full time job in the trades.

What is your favorite book? Why?

I don't have a favorite book, but I have a favorite quote.

"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out--

Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out--
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me."

- Martin Niemoller

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Jean Luc Picard.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

The Pointer Sisters- So Excited!

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Healthcare, the first time in my adult life I had healthcare was when the ACA passed. I understand what unexpected medical bills can do to a family first hand,.

What qualities does the U.S. House of Representatives possess that makes it unique as an institution?

The US House is a co-equal branch of government, they are the direct line back to the people of this country. We must not forget we are a country for the people, and by the people.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for representatives to have previous experience in government or politics?

No, I believe that life experience is much more valuable. How do you react under pressure, are you prone to knee jerk reactions, are you susceptible to pressure from others - I think all of these are things you learn from years of real world experience and because you learn from a wide variety of experiences, I feel you have a more well rounded idea of how you will be able to represent your fellow Americans.s

What do you perceive to be the United States’ greatest challenges as a nation over the next decade?

Labeling something the greatest challenge is short sighted. Currently we have many "greatest challenges" short term being health care. No one will ever be secure in their life of future when a heart attack or cancer can wipe out their entire financial lives work in one instance. Long term climate change is our greatest threat. At the moment we have no magic bullet to reverse the process. So we need to take small meaningful steps to reverse the process. And we need to do this without disrupting our way of life as much as possible. In other areas of "biggest concern" we have the income gap ever widening, this leads to a larger gap in educational growth which leads to a never ending cycle. We are in the middle of an opioid epidemic and so many other important issues.

In addition to those, the partisan divide is in its own downward spiral. We as a populace have fallen victim to the "squeaky wheel gets the grease" we hear mostly from far left or far right candidates preaching about pushing their agenda without compromise. This not only alienates many of their own constituents, but also anyone from the opposite side of the aisle. As a byproduct nothing actually gets done. We need officials who themselves support and listen to the progressive agenda, but are more representative of the entire population they represent. As a byproduct of this we can move past the black or white way of thinking and get back to realizing most issues are defined in so many shades of grey.

If you are not a current representative, are there certain committees that you would want to be a part of?

To be honest, I haven't given this a whole lot of thought yet. As I travel throughout the district and hear what is truly keeping Ohioans up at night and impacting their day to day lives, I think I will hone in on where I want to dedicate myself once elected.

Do you believe that two years is the right term length for representatives?

No, the current two year system takes away too much time from legislating to campaign. If we moved to a 4 year system, 1/4 years would be spent campaigning vs. 2/4 with the current system.

What are your thoughts on term limits?

I think we need to look at term limits, the founding fathers never meant to create lifetime politicians.

Both sitting representatives and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

I was speaking to a union truck driver who had given 30 years of his life to his company, and recently while at work learned from the media his company had filed bankruptcy. As the sole income earner in the home, a father of 3 college students and a wife with a pre-existing condition; his entire life hung in the balance. He shared his fears, the stress from the uncertainty of retaining his job, what would happen to his wife if they lost their healthcare and more. We spoke at length about the difficult task ahead if he was forced to find insurance in between jobs that would cover his wife. The expressions on his face will stay with me, he deserves a government that will work smarter to build a stronger economy and one that will protect Americans with pre-existing conditions.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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Footnotes

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Ohio's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Jon Husted (R)

Bernie Moreno (R)

Representatives

District 1

Greg Landsman (D)

District 2

David Taylor (R)

District 3

Joyce Beatty (D)

District 4

Jim Jordan (R)

District 5

Bob Latta (R)

District 6

Michael Rulli (R)

District 7

Max Miller (R)

District 8

Warren Davidson (R)

District 9

Marcy Kaptur (D)

District 10

Michael Turner (R)

District 11

Shontel Brown (D)

District 12

Troy Balderson (R)

District 13

Emilia Sykes (D)

District 14

David Joyce (R)

District 15

Mike Carey (R)

Republican Party (12)

Democratic Party (5)