Ohio's 1st Congressional District is represented by Democrat Greg Landsman, who is seeking a third term. He faces Republican Eric Conroy and Libertarian Eric Weise, both first-time candidates.
The district includes all of Warren County and eastern Hamilton County, including the city of Cincinnati.
Before Landsman won the seat in 2022, the district had been represented by Republican Steve Chabot since 1995 (except for one two-year term where Steve Driehaus unseated Chabot during the Obama wave of 2008). In 2022, the boundaries changed, making the seat more competitive than it has been in years, and paving the way for a Democrat to win.
Those boundaries changed again in 2025, this time making the seat more competitive for Republicans.
Learn more about Conroy, Landsman and Weise below, listed in alphabetical order by last name. Candidates were given the same survey questions and word limit of no more than 300 words to respond to each question. All candidate responses have been lightly edited for grammar and style.
Click to jump to each candidate:
Eric Conroy (R)
Party affiliation: Republican
Campaign website: ericconroy.com
Editor's note: Conroy did not respond to multiple requests, via email and phone, to complete the candidate survey. Ahead of the May primary election, WVXU's Cincinnati Edition interviewed Conroy on topics including the war in Iran, affordability, energy, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, immigration policy, and more. You can read or listen to that full interview here.
Greg Landsman (D-incumbent)
Party affiliation: Democrat
Campaign website: landsmanforcongress.com
Biography (provided by the candidate)
Greg is a former teacher, the son of teachers, and focused on making life infinitely better for children and families. Greg led the successful passage of the Cincinnati Preschool Promise, which provides two years of quality preschool for 3 and 4 year olds.
At Cincinnati City Hall, Greg led on public safety, eviction prevention, youth jobs, and set up the first ever Office of Good Government and Ethics.
In Congress, Greg helped pass the Social Security Fairness Act to help our retired teachers, police officers, firefighters, and nurses. Greg has also emerged as an anti-corruption champion, selling his stocks, suspending his pay during the shutdown, and refusing corporate pac money. He is also leading the most comprehensive anti-corruption bill ever, The Drain the Swamp Act. Greg lives in Mt. Washington with his wife, Sarah, and children, Maddie and Elijah, both students at Walnut Hills.
What, if anything, needs to be done at the federal level to address concerns about the environmental, financial and quality-of-life impacts of data centers?
Congress has to act to protect our communities and our ratepayers. We’re leading several bills to do so, including a bipartisan bill to end the use of NDAs. These projects need to be done in the open, with communities told everything. No more secret deals.
Our Do No Harm Data Centers bill would require Big Tech to pay for all of the electricity costs. Local ratepayers should not pay a penny more on utilities.
I have also introduced legislation to establish national environmental standards.
Some believe that there is no role for the federal government, and that local communities and ratepayers are on their own. That’s siding with Big Tech over our towns, and I think that’s wrong.
Immigration enforcement actions under the Trump administration have often moved beyond people suspected or convicted of serious violent crimes. Do you support this approach? Why or why not?
No. Trump’s approach has been chaotic, cruel and costly. They’ve spent three quarters of a trillion dollars on this immigration mayhem. Border security and going after criminals is what most Americans want. This is not what they’re doing. They have targeted people who came here legally, and in some cases, they have gone after U.S. citizens.
We need comprehensive immigration reform and real border security. Not this chaos.
What steps would you take to address high inflation and other cost of living concerns?
End the trade wars, end the war in Iran, take on corporate consolidation and price gauging, restore the health care cuts, protect ratepayers from data centers, and fix the tax code so that it rewards hard work and not the accumulation of wealth.
What is your stance on the Trump administration’s approach to Iran, and what do you think the U.S. should aim to get out of it?
The war needs to end. Trump has not articulated a clear or compelling strategy, nor has he gotten Congressional approval or support. The administration has also failed to build the international coalition necessary to deal with the very serious threat that Iran poses.
What legislation would you introduce to improve our roads, bridges and transit, and how would you fund it?
I helped secure the $1.6 billion federal investment in the Brent Spence Bridge project, one of the most important infrastructure investments in our region’s history. I also helped bring $11.5 million in federal funding to SORTA for new and improved buses, facilities, equipment, and workforce training, as well as $25 million in federal funding to cap Fort Washington Way. Most recently, I delivered $14.225 million for 14 local projects across Southwest Ohio, including $2 million for improvements to State Route 48, $600,000 for pedestrian safety improvements in Lebanon, and additional funding for road projects in Mason and Montgomery.
At the federal level, I would support a strong, bipartisan surface transportation bill that makes long-term investments in roads, bridges, transit, and rail while cutting unnecessary red tape so projects can actually get built. I also support exploring a national infrastructure bank to provide a reliable source of financing for major infrastructure projects.
What values do you think your constituents expect of you?
They expect me to be honest, accountable, transparent, and focused on getting things done to make life better for people in Southwest Ohio. That’s why I hold town halls, refuse to take corporate PAC money, and am one of the only members of Congress to get rid of my stocks.
The most important thing right now for leaders is to get things done. We should all be focused entirely on results, and the only way to get things done is for folks to work together. That’s what I’ve always done and that’s what I’ll always do.
Nathan Weise (L)
Party affiliation: Libertarian
Campaign website: weiseforcongress.com
Biography (provided by the candidate)
My name is Nathan Weise and I am the Libertarian candidate seeking to represent the people of Southwest Ohio in Congressional District 1. I am local through and through; I was born in Cincinnati, graduated from Cincinnati Public Schools, and am an alum of the University of Cincinnati, finishing with a bachelor’s in Organizational Leadership — go Bearcats! While at UC, I first became politically involved. The first campaign I organized for was VoteMob, a get-out-the-vote campaign. Voter turnout and representation is still important to me to this day.
After my time at UC, I went on to earn my Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Government and Policy from Grand Canyon University. I was a Director for Youth for Gary Johnson in 2016, was the Director of Communications for the Libertarian Party of Ohio for three years, and have been a state delegate for Ohio at the Libertarian National Convention three times. I am currently the Chair of the Hamilton County Libertarian Party.
What, if anything, needs to be done at the federal level to address concerns about the environmental, financial and quality-of-life impacts of data centers?
I acknowledge that data centers are part of our future, but we need to fully understand the risks and potential harm they can cause before we allow them to spread across the country. There are not only serious concerns about their water usage and carbon footprint, but there is currently research being done to understand the impact of their massive electromagnetic fields on humans over time. The sound pollution is also a nuisance that should not be forced onto current surrounding landowners.
I support “polluter pays” principles for all industries, not just data centers — it’s the simple idea that whoever creates pollution should bear the cost of preventing, controlling, or cleaning it up. A way to implement this — that not only saves the taxpayers money but also reduces the burden on government — is to require companies to effectively have pollution insurance. The insurance companies keep them compliant because they don’t want to pay out claims.
I also support making it easier for individuals to sue corporations that cause environmental harm, impact their quality of life, or have their property rights violated in any way. Some of the burden of proof should shift from the individual to the corporation so that individuals simply do not run out of money pursuing valid suits.
Also, we need strict disclosure requirements. Communities should understand the full impact of a data center before planning even begins. That assessment should be ongoing during development, and if those impacts change at all, the community should be aware so that appropriate actions can be taken.
Immigration enforcement actions under the Trump administration have often moved beyond people suspected or convicted of serious violent crimes. Do you support this approach? Why or why not?
I do not support this approach. Immigration enforcement is largely an administrative issue, not a criminal matter, and it should be treated that way.
Right now, we are seeing what many would consider manufactured non-compliance. By closing, consolidating, or understaffing the immigration offices and courts, many who are doing everything in their power to follow the law are unable to get a court date before their visas expire or their temporary status lapses. This administration is treating these individuals as "out of compliance" for a situation that is completely outside of their control. If someone has done everything they are supposed to do and they have a court date scheduled, we should give them the due process that everyone is entitled to in the United States — citizen or not. That is the least that should be done.
I support an overhaul of the immigration system that would make those problems a thing of the past. A modern Ellis Island-style system would eliminate much of the bureaucracy: if an individual follows the law and is productive, that individual can stay in the country. This system would reduce the size of the enforcement agencies, reduce pressure on immigration courts, and increase economic growth — while also saving taxpayers money.
What steps would you take to address high inflation and other cost of living concerns?
First, the war in Iran needs to end immediately. This is vital to making the lives of Americans affordable again — it is having a direct impact on the cost at the pump, but also the cost of electric bills. Not only does crude oil move through the Strait of Hormuz, but 20% of the worlds liquid natural gas does as well. Aside from that, the Strait of Hormuz is a vital trade route for much of the world, and it being closed is increasing shipping time, which increases shipping costs, which leads to everyday items being more expensive. I would support the War Powers Resolution Act and encourage action for non-compliance. I would aloo use Congress’ Power of the Purse and would not vote for any budget or bill that gives more money to the Pentagon.
We need to end the trade wars and eliminate tariffs as well as other import restrictions — this would have a significant impact quickly. These policies are making everything more expensive, not just everyday items but even cars and homes. I would propose legislation doing exactly that.
I would propose legislation to help solve the post-COVID logistics bottlenecks that still exist today. We currently have a shortage of 80,000 active CDL drivers and at least 20,000 were put out of service in the last year due to new English proficiency requirements. I would propose legislation to not only repeal that requirement, but many other regulations that are making it difficult for truckers and transportation companies to meet the needs of Americans. I would also propose legislation that addresses waits at docks and warehouses, lengthens the hours of operation of locks, and encourage quicker license reciprocity between states so workers can easily move where they are needed.
What is your stance on the Trump administration’s approach to Iran, and what do you think the U.S. should aim to get out of it?
The Trump administration’s approach to the war in Iran has been a disaster from every perspective. It has inefficiently used resources, failed at the negotiation table, and the longer it drags on the further destabilized the region will become. The loss of life is a tragedy that cannot be overstated — 19 U.S. service members have been killed in Iran, more than 800 have been wounded. Estimates have the death toll in Iran around 9,000 — including the more than 100 children that were killed in the bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ school early in the war. Trump has trivialized the war, calling it “small potatoes” — there is no death toll number on either side that is “small potatoes.”
[Reporter's note: The Washington Post reports the number of U.S. service member fatalities is higher than the Trump administration reports. Reports of Iranian and regional casualty figures vary widely by source; the World Health Organization reports as of Sept. 14, there have been 3,375 deaths in Iran and 4,383 deaths in Lebanon.]
The U.S. needs to go to the negotiating table with the same deal that was in place up until 2018, which was canceled by Trump in his first term, and make that the starting point. Iran repeatedly passed inspection by the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] and were compliant under that deal. Concessions will likely need to be made, as relations have deteriorated and we don’t have the upper hand in the situation. That said, it is in the best interest of everyone to end the war, so a deal needs to be made.
What legislation would you introduce to improve our roads, bridges and transit, and how would you fund it?
I would introduce legislation that would authorize and encourage states to convert more interstates and highways into electronic tolls. This not only will generate revenue, but it will ensure that the people most using the roads are paying for the roads.
Following the same idea, I would look to expand mileage-based user fees as a replacement for the gas tax. With vehicles becoming more fuel efficient and with electric vehicles becoming more popular, the roads are still being used but less revenue is being collected.
In line with my first policy, I would also look to increase public-private partnerships with concessions, especially with bridges — allowing the private sector to maintain them and collect the tolls themselves.
Historically, rail has expanded when we have allowed it to. I would propose legislation that would remove burdensome regulations that discourage new competition in the market. Increasing our passenger and freight capacity will take traffic off the roads, reducing maintenance costs.
What values do you think your constituents expect of you?
My constituents expect that I will actually represent the people of Southwest Ohio, not special interest groups, political factions, or foreign governments. They want a representative who is grounded in the realities of their daily lives. They are tired of performative fights over culture‑war distractions and expect me to stay focused on issues that actually change their circumstances.
They also expect integrity — that I will keep my word, follow through on commitments, and put in the work required to advance the priorities I’ve campaigned on. That means fighting to Make America Affordable Again, pursuing meaningful immigration reform, ending the surveillance state, and bringing our troops home — not only from war, but from places like Japan, Germany, and Australia. My constituents expect a representative who is accountable, principled, and unwavering in the effort to deliver on these promises.
