Ohio Democrat’s decades-long ties to steel lobbyist raise ethics questions

Campaign finance filings reveal that Rep. Marcy Kaptur’s principal committee received close to $40,000 from steel lobbyist Eileen Bradner and the Nucor Political Action Committee between 2004 and 2026. Documents from Alexandria, Virginia, also indicate that Bradner was listed as Kaptur’s attorney-in-fact when the congresswoman refinanced a Washington-area condo in August 2010, a move she says was necessary while she tended to a sick relative.

Advocacy groups have called the relationship “bizarre” for a member who frequently touts ethics and transparency, suggesting it could have granted Bradner special access. Bradner, who worked for Wiley Rein LLP from 1998 to 2009 and later served as senior director of federal government affairs at Nucor until her 2023 retirement, has a history of donating to Kaptur’s campaigns and supporting steel-related legislation. Kaptur, now 80 and seeking a 23rd term in Ohio’s Ninth District, maintains that the friendship predates her congressional service and that the power of attorney did not confer any financial benefit or ownership rights. The seat is listed as a “toss-up” by the Cook Political Report, and she faces a primary challenge from state Rep. Derek Merrin.