Vulnerable Democrat who previously welcomed Biden won’t say if she’ll attend Friday event with president

Ohio Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur warmly greeted President Biden in Ohio in June, then ran an ad distancing herself from the White House last month, and has not said whether she’ll join the president at and Senate nominee Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, for the groundbreaking of Intel’s semiconductor manufacturing facility.

Biden will be in Licking County, Ohio, Friday for the ceremony to launch construction on the factory, which Ryan hailed as “a huge opportunity” for Ohio on CNN Sunday. Ryan’s office confirmed the Congressman’s attendance at the ceremony, telling Fox News Digital he will “be in attendance for the groundbreaking of Intel, the most transformational economic development project in Ohio’s history that he supported with the passage the CHIPS Act.”

Ryan voted to pass the legislation in July, after having “repeatedly pushed for swift passage of the CHIPS Act” via several letter-writing campaigns to Congressional leadership and voicing his stance on the House floor, according to a statement released by his office. 

However, it has not yet been confirmed whether Kaptur will be in attendance at the Ohio event. Fox News Digital reached out to Kaptur’s office multiple times, which has repeatedly avoided giving a yes or no answer. Kaptur had previously joined Biden on the campaign trail in Ohio early last month, during which the Congresswoman praised the president for his efforts to protect state pensions via an initiative in his American Rescue Plan. 

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The Ohio Democrat welcomed the president on the tarmac following Air Force One’s arrival, during which the president kissed the Representative’s hand. Kaptur was joined along with Ohio Democrats including Rep. Shontel Brown and Sen. Sherrod Brown. 

But Kaptur shifted her tone, releasing an ad in August slamming the administration and asserting that she “doesn’t work for Joe Biden.”

“Joe Biden is letting Ohio solar manufacturers be undercut by China, but Marcy Kaptur is fighting back,” the ad stated. The ad also stated the Democrat Congresswoman was now working with Republican Rob Portman in “protecting” Ohio jobs. 

Kaptur’s seat in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District — which includes the city of Toledo and the northwestern corner of the state — is rated a toss up in Fox News’ Power Rankings, and is considered one of the most competitive House races in the 2022 midterm elections.

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The House of Representatives approved the CHIPS Act of 2022 in late July, after a 243-187 vote and a last-minute effort by House Republicans to stop the legislation from going through. It was later signed by Biden on Aug. 9 with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Vice President Kamala Harris by his side. 

The bill, which eventually was dubbed the CHIPS and Science Act, aims to improve competition with China by funneling money towards domestic manufacturing ventures, research and development, and science and technology. The legislation also seeks to strengthen U.S. supply chains and national security. 

Intel announced in January a $20 billion investment to build a semiconductor plant in central Ohio, creating at least 10,000 new jobs as a result. The CHIPS Act will be supporting the initiative’s initial investment. 

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Ryan recently said Biden’s $300 billion student loan handout “sends the wrong message”, slamming the recent legislation in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

“As someone who’s paying off my own family’s student loans, I know the costs of higher education are too high,” Ryan said in the statement. “And while there’s no doubt that a college education should be about opening opportunities, waiving debt for those already on a trajectory to financial security sends the wrong message to the millions of Ohioans without a degree working just as hard to make ends meet.” 

Ryan, who is currently representing Ohio’s 13th District, won Ohio’s Democratic primary with 69.7% of the vote back in May and will go head-to-head against the GOP’s Trump-backed candidate, J.D. Vance. 

Vance is currently leading by 3 points, according to a new poll out of Emerson College.