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Samantha Meadows
Samantha Meadows (Democratic Party) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent Ohio's 2nd Congressional District. She lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Meadows completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Samantha Meadows was born in Portsmouth, Ohio. She earned a high school diploma from Northwest High School and a bachelor's degree from Ohio Christian University in 2021.[1] Meadows' professional experience includes working in triage at a pediatric clinic.[2]
Meadows has been affiliated with AmeriCorps.[2]
Elections
2024
See also: Ohio's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024
Ohio's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024 (March 19 Republican primary)
Ohio's 2nd Congressional District election, 2024 (March 19 Democratic primary)
General election
General election for U.S. House Ohio District 2
David Taylor defeated Samantha Meadows and Alexander Schrank in the general election for U.S. House Ohio District 2 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | David Taylor (R) | 73.6 | 268,211 |
 | Samantha Meadows (D)  | 26.4 | 96,401 | |
| Alexander Schrank (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 4 | ||
| Total votes: 364,616 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 2
Samantha Meadows advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 2 on March 19, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Samantha Meadows | 100.0 | 15,022 |
| Total votes: 15,022 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Joe Wessels (D) (Unofficially withdrew)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 2
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 2 on March 19, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Taylor | 25.5 | 26,247 |
 | Tim O'Hara | 22.0 | 22,626 | |
 | Larry Kidd | 19.0 | 19,583 | |
 | Shane Wilkin | 9.6 | 9,932 | |
 | Ron Hood | 8.8 | 9,020 | |
 | Phil Heimlich | 4.9 | 5,080 | |
 | Tom Hwang | 3.1 | 3,202 | |
 | Kim Georgeton | 2.2 | 2,311 | |
 | Charles Tassell | 1.7 | 1,737 | |
 | Niraj Antani | 1.7 | 1,700 | |
 | Derek Myers | 1.5 | 1,565 | |
| Total votes: 103,003 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Endorsements
Meadows received the following endorsements. To view a full list of Meadows's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here.
Pledges
Meadows signed the following pledges.
2022
See also: Ohio's 2nd Congressional District election, 2022
General election
General election for U.S. House Ohio District 2
Incumbent Brad Wenstrup defeated Samantha Meadows in the general election for U.S. House Ohio District 2 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Brad Wenstrup (R) | 74.5 | 192,117 |
| Samantha Meadows (D) | 25.5 | 65,745 | |
| Total votes: 257,862 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 2
Samantha Meadows defeated Alan Darnowsky in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Ohio District 2 on May 3, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Samantha Meadows | 72.0 | 11,694 |
 | Alan Darnowsky | 28.0 | 4,541 | |
| Total votes: 16,235 | |||
| = 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 2
Incumbent Brad Wenstrup defeated James Condit Jr. and David Windisch in the Republican primary for U.S. House Ohio District 2 on May 3, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Brad Wenstrup | 77.4 | 56,805 |
 | James Condit Jr. | 12.6 | 9,250 | |
| David Windisch | 10.1 | 7,382 | ||
| Total votes: 73,437 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Samantha Meadows completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Meadows' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I am running for US Congress because I believe that rural America has been underrepresented in national politics. OH2 is 8,000 square miles and 18.7% of the state, which is primarily rural communities. As capital flows to urban areas, rural folks are faced with geographical isolation, lack of healthcare providers, crumbling roads, and a lack of broadband. The economical divide is growing.
As a rural Southern Ohioan, I know that we have shared values of independence, freedom, common sense, tradition, family, and hard work. We don't want a handout; we want a hand up. We need a Rural Representative for a Rural District.- Politics is about people. Governing with compassion and empathy is essential in politics. In order to fairly represent people, you must know them. I am committed to consistently engage with the community. I show up before an election and will show after as well. I believe in the power of the people and will work to restore faith and trust in our government.
- I support Workers' Rights and unionization. As an Associate Member of the United Mine Workers of America, I know the importance of safe workplaces, good wages and benefits, and strong representation. I will fight for the Dignity of Work.
- Poverty is not a moral failure; it is policy failure. The wage gap in the US keeps the rich, rich, and the poor, poor. We need policies focused on opportunities for lower income workers to have upward mobility. We need to level the playing field. We must end food insecurity, lack of affordable healthcare and housing, and improve conditions for ALL Americans.
Paul Wellstone
Healthcare will be a significant challenge we will face. Modern medicine has provided longevity of life, but we must meet that with the quality of life. We will need to provide quality affordable care to an expanding aging population in addition to younger generations. This gap will require healthcare reform to ensure that all citizens are able to afford the care that they need. This includes Veteran's healthcare and the current negative effects of means testing.
Closing the wealth gap is a challenge that directly affects all Americans. Wealth inequality limits the opportunities for hardworking Americans while the 1% monopolizes businesses, including the growing expansion into farming and purchasing ag land that will never return to hands of the American farmer. The extreme gap in CEO pays and worker pay is not sustainable, nor should it be. We must advocate for the dignity of work, support unionization, level the playing field for small business owners, and create adequate, fair tax reform to address this issue.
Human rights are the greatest challenge we will face. When women's reproductive rights were struck down, it laid the foundation for all human rights to be dismantled. The basic and essential right for a woman to freely make decisions about her own healthcare is a basic human right. This is in violation of the Constitution.
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.
Campaign website
Meadows’s campaign website stated the following:
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Rural Power Once thriving industrial towns, factories were either shutdown or were moved out of the United States. Mines were closed. Small family businesses were shuttered. Local economies were devastated. But rural Americans are built strong. We are self-reliant, resourceful, resilient, with shared values. We have a deep love of family and community. I WANT TO ENERGIZE, ENGAGE, AND BRING RURAL AMERICANS BACK INTO POLITICS. I COMMIT TO LISTEN TO THE GOOD FOLKS OF MY DISTRICT AND TAKE THEIR CONCERNS TO WASHINGTON, DC. MEDICARE, SOCIAL SECURITY & RETIRED WORKERS Charles Williams, Retired Worker, UMWA The Issues AT A GLANCE
CURRENT OH2 CONGRESSMAN’S STANCE
Social Security provides crucial income to millions of Americans. Retirees, senior citizens, disabled, and surviving spouses should never have to worry about the loss of their income. Ensuring that those benefits remain intact for our citizens is a top priority for me. I have volunteered as an End-of-Life Companion because I know that Medicare does not provide adequate coverage for longterm at-home care. Caring for your dying loved ones is heartbreaking and stressful. The last thing the families need to worry about are finances, but it looms heavy on their minds. We need better programs to safeguard families from losing their savings and homes due to extended illnesses. In addition, Medicare must include vision, dental, and hearing. I would fight for the addition of those services because I know how they directly affect families. I care. ECONOMY But obstacles in rural communities are preventing them from benefitting from these historical accomplishments. Many of our counties still do not have access to broadband. The good paying jobs created by these policies are not reaching rural communities. Opportunities to make a living wage are scarce unless you live closer to a Columbus and Cincinnati. RURAL AMERICA DESERVES TO HAVE THE SAME OPPORTUNITIES AS METROPOLITAN COMMUNITIES. I WILL WORK HARD TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD SO THAT THE RURAL POOR CAN LIVE THE AMERICAN DREAM.[3] |
” |
| —Samantha Meadows’s campaign website (2024)[4] | ||
2022
Samantha Meadows completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Meadows' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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- Together, we can overcome any obstacles to become a more perfect union.
- Our communities in the 2nd Congressional District have been neglected & underrepresented. I will change that for all of our citizens.
- To serve Southern Ohioans, it takes a Southern Ohioan. I am a lifelong Southern Ohioan who knows the needs and issues of our communities intimately.
Although these are the key issues that we need to focus on right now, I am committed to fight for social equality, inclusiveness, reproductive rights, racial justice, and the resurrection of a country whose common goals are to work with one another, not against one another.
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.
Campaign website
Meadows' campaign website stated the following:
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ABORTION RIGHTS At a glance
My Opponent’s Stance
When I was a young woman, just starting a career in EMS, I did not fully understand the term "abortion." I was handed a specimen jar and asked to take it to the lab. It was marked, "incomplete abortion." When I returned from the lab, I saw a heartbroken couple sobbing as they left the emergency room. Abortion was not a moral issue. Here in Ohio, a 10-year-old-girl was denied the right to an abortion. 10 years old. She is a victim. Her rights were violated by her rapist. Then, the Supreme Court of the United States gave Ohio the ability to yank away that child's right to the healthcare that she needs. Her tiny body would most likely have difficulty bearing a child. She is being victimized again by a system that believes forcing childbirth on a child is the moral thing to do. The suffering that she is being forced to endure is a moral issue. The fundamental right to her reproductive health is a Constitutional issue. Overturning Roe was an egregious miscarriage of justice. 5 unelected judges – several of whom lied to the Senate to get confirmed – decided that the women and girls of this country will be governmentally mandated to give birth. This decision was politically motivated to strip women of their autonomy and equality. When Texas initiated the attack on Roe, the House passed a bill to make it law; 2 GOP members did not vote, the rest voted against it. The Senate only voted on whether to debate it. Six members did not vote, one Democrat voted no. This was a political hitjob by the GOP that has real-world effects on women that will change our lives forever. There is no legal certainty without Roe about the treatment of ectopic pregnancies & non-viable pregnancies that will result in the death of the mothers. This decision on Roe has opened the floodgates on issues of same-sex marriage, interracial marriage, contraception, the right for grandmothers to live with their families, the right to parental decision-making, the right for adults to engage in consensual sexual relations in private, the right to accept or refuse unwanted medical treatment, and privacy issues regarding search warrants, Miranda Rights, etc. Roe is not a moral issue; it is a Constitutional issue.
At a glance
My Opponent’s Stance
Social Security provides crucial income to millions of Americans. Retirees, senior citizens, disabled, and surviving spouses should never have to worry about the loss of their income. Ensuring that those benefits remain intact for our citizens is a top priority for me. I have volunteered as an End-of-Life Companion because I know that Medicare does not provide adequate coverage for longterm at-home care. Caring for your dying loved ones is heartbreaking and stressful. The last thing the families need to worry about are finances, but it looms heavy on their minds. We need better programs to safeguard families from losing their savings and homes due to extended illnesses. In addition, Medicare must include vision, dental, and hearing. I would fight for the addition of those services because I know how they directly affect families. I care.
At a glance
My Opponent’s Stance
I know that things are tough right now. I came from a household that went from middle-class to impoverished pretty quickly. Many of us today are only one paycheck away from a financial crisis. It’s frightening. I understand. We are struggling. I won’t lie to you, it is not going to get better quickly. We are in this for the long haul. But President Biden’s infrastructure plan pumped money into our states to get people working. When the shovel hits the dirt, we are going to see an influx in demand for laborers. I will support unions in their fight for fair wages and worker protections. Those jobs are going to stimulate our economy. It will help. In the meantime, we have had the opportunity to pass legislation that would stop big business from price-gouging us. My opponent, incumbent Brad Wenstrup, voted against the bill. We also need help from the government to defray the prices we are forced to pay for basic necessities like groceries & medication. We can do something about this to help us weather inflation. It is possible but we need people in Congress who know and care about what is happening to the average American. I know because I am walking in your shoes too. I will work to take the burden off of the lower and middle class.[3] |
” |
| —Samantha Meadows' campaign website (2022)[5] | ||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on August 11, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 29, 2022
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Progress for All, “Issues,” accessed February 29, 2024
- ↑ Samantha Meadows for Congress, “Home,” accessed November 4, 2022
