Jeffries says Democrats' House chances are holding firm as he campaigns in Ohio

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said Sunday the election climate is holding firm for Democrats as they race to retake the House, campaigning in Toledo, Ohio, for Rep. Marcy Kaptur in a heavily contested congressional district that is crucial for majority control of the chamber.

Jeffries also slapped back at President Donald Trump's abrupt decision to waive sanctions on Russia. He said there will be a bipartisan effort in the House to pursue a new sanctions package that the president would not have the ability to waive.

Speaking to The Associated Press after visiting church services in Toledo, Jeffries said it was shocking, but not surprising, that an American president would do so much to undermine the cause of democracy, freedom and dignity for the Ukrainian people.

Jeffries, who is in line to become House speaker if Democrats win back the majority, has travelled to some 50 cities campaigning for Democratic candidates. He said House Republicans are divorced from reality in thinking, as Speaker Mike Johnson recently suggested, that the Nov. 3 election will be a repeat of the 2024 sweep that put Trump in the White House and Republicans in Congress.

Jeffries said Democrats are working hard across the country, continuing to make the case that dramatic change is needed as opposed to the status quo, and that Democrats are the only ones who will fight to make the country affordable.

The Buckeye State is being fiercely contested in these midterm elections that will determine control of Congress. While much attention has been on the Senate race between Republican Sen. Jon Husted and Democrat Sherrod Brown, the House races are a district-by-district slog key to unlocking control of that chamber.

The Toledo-area House seat has been a top priority. Kaptur, who has held office for decades, is the longest-serving woman in the House. But Trump has carried the district and Republicans are trying to flip it. Kaptur defeated GOP candidate Derek Merrin two years ago, but Merrin is making a repeat play for the seat.

Kaptur told AP that her team works very hard, not just at elections, but to make a difference in people's lives. In August, Kaptur, 80, was heading to church when the vehicle she was riding in as a passenger was struck. She was hospitalized with injuries suffered in the car accident, but said she has since recovered.

Jeffries said Kaptur is a legendary figure in the Great Lakes Region and predicted that once again she is going to defy all expectations. The area has been home to a large Ukrainian American population, and Kaptur is founder and co-chair of the Congressional Ukraine Caucus, a bipartisan group of lawmakers with a particular focus on the country.

She had harsh words for Trump's decision late Friday to waive provisions of the Russia sanctions bill named for Lindsey Graham, which Congress had passed to help Ukraine as it battles Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion. The president had just signed the bill into law last month, and the sanctions were due to take effect Sunday.

Kaptur said what Trump did was un-American and that he had sided with Putin. Members of Congress, Democrats and Republicans, expressed outrage over the weekend at the decision.

Speaker Johnson said Sunday on Fox News Channel's Sunday Morning Futures that a number of his colleagues have raised concerns. He said he had yet to talk about it with Trump, but knows the president is evaluating the situation, adding that they need to talk about it and carefully consider the unintended consequences.

The Ohio campaign has therefore become about more than one seat: it now reflects the fight for control of the House, Ukraine policy, and a bipartisan dispute in Washington over sanctions. As the Nov. 3 vote approaches, contests such as Kaptur against Merrin will decide whether Jeffries' optimism is borne out.