AKRON, Ohio — Ahead of Election Day, Republican Christina Hagan spoke exclusively with Spectrum Washington bureau reporter Taylor Popielarz about her race to unseat longtime Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan in the 13th District.

You can watch the full, uncut conversation above or read the full transcript below.

And you can watch the full report on the race in the 13th Congressional District by clicking here. 

Taylor Popielarz: I want to start off with what's probably the most cliche question: At a time when Congress is just viewed so unfavorably by the public, why do you want this job?

Christina Hagan: Yeah, so I want this job because we need normal working class people in Congress. It's time to restore respect and integrity to that body of government. As a young mother of three, I have a lot at stake. And so for me, it's about going and fighting for normal people, advocating for policies that restore and protect our future, and ensure that we have something to pass on to the next generation.

Taylor Popielarz: As you've been campaigning and meeting voters and introducing yourself, what would you say are the top two or three legislative priorities that you say, this will be top of the list if I get elected?

Christina Hagan: Absolutely. So as we're out talking to voters, it's abundantly clear that people want us supporting and backing law enforcement. They want safety and security in our communities. I mean, that's a no-brainer. Again, as a mother of three young children, we want to ensure that our communities are safe. But ultimately, we also want to ensure that there are strong jobs and a strong economy here in northeast Ohio. And as we look around the district, whether it's Summit County, Stark County or Mahoning or Trumbull, wherever, it's clear that we've had abundant job loss under Congressman Tim Ryan. So people are very concerned about the future. And they want to see investment in infrastructure. They want to see opportunities for our manufacturing base to be restored. And Americans want us fighting and advocating for reshoring our manufacturing base in northeast Ohio.

Taylor Popielarz: You technically live outside of the district, in the 7th district, and you ran in 2018 in another district. Why should voters in the 13th district feel comfortable with the idea of you representing them?

Christina Hagan: So I've already represented folks in this district in the state legislature. And of course, district lines change but northeast Ohio hasn't. Congressman Tim Ryan went to Congress as a conservative, pro-life, pro-gun, anti-deficit spending Democrat. He is no longer any of those things. But our region has remained conservative in nature. We want to see jobs and opportunity — jobs that have been lost under his reign, I call it, over the last two decades. And I'm somebody who's fought for and balanced a budget amidst very difficult deficits in the state legislature and fought for and advocated for jobs, and helped us through a recession in the state. So I think it's less about me being six tenths of a mile outside of the district, and more about the opportunity that we can help restore northeast Ohio. And I think that every constituent should have confidence in the fact that I'm applying for a job. I want to go and work for them, while Tim Ryan is applying to be speaker of the house, he's applying to be president of the United States. He’s not interested in doing this job any longer. I'm simply asking the constituents to give me a chance to fight for, advocate for, and go be a fighter for this district.

Taylor Popielarz: If you were to be elected and the district lines stayed the same, though you're just outside of it, would you at all feel compelled to move technically into the district?

Christina Hagan: Absolutely. I take great pride in living a few miles from the farm that I was raised on. My brothers and I all live very close within two miles of that farm. But if I had to move six tenths of a mile, I would be glad to do it so that everybody would feel assured that I was completely committed to the district. My husband and I look through Zillow and realtor.com nearly every single day trying to find the right house, the right fit for our growing children. Without question, I would move into the district and without hesitation.

Taylor Popielarz: You've been in politics since you were 22. You come from a very political family, I was reading up on your father's history and kind of the extended family. What do you say to voters who —  Tim Ryan's made a career in politics, so I won't put the career politician question there — but what do you say to voters who are skeptical that you fully understand what kind of the average worker who doesn't come from a political family is going through?

Christina Hagan: Yeah, absolutely. My husband is a plumber, my husband is an electrician. I myself have apprenticed in the trades. I was raised in a small heating and plumbing business in the apartment above our family's business. We are working class Americans. Yeah, we've been involved in politics because we believe that fighters need to be involved in politics. We believe that conservatives need to have a voice in politics. But ultimately, I'm the daughter of a plumber. I'm the daughter of small business owners. I'm a daughter, sister and wife of the trades and again, my husband's a volunteer firefighter and EMT. My brothers are firefighters and paramedics. My sister-in-law is an educator. You know, we are a family of working class people. And I think the difference between me and Tim Ryan is very clear. Tim has been in politics for his entire adult life. He's never worked a private sector job. I've worked private sector jobs all my life. I waited tables for over 15 years, even while serving in the state legislature. I never stopped being blue collar because I was a legislator, because I was a member of a governing body. I remained who I was and I fought for working class people just like me in the state legislature. I advocated for the skilled trades, I advocated for apprenticeships, I fought for our jobs and strengthening our economy. I never stopped being me because I was in public service. In fact, I took who I was to the legislature to make sure that working class people had a voice.

Taylor Popielarz: In 2018, when you ran against then-candidate Anthony Gonzalez, I'm curious what you learned from that race? I know he has since endorsed you for this race. But what did you learn in that campaign?

Christina Hagan: Yeah, in that campaign, I learned that politics are very difficult. And even though you may have a proven track record of service, that doesn't mean that you will always have the support or backing of the party. For me, it's never been about being a party person. It's always been about being an advocate for the people, for the district, for the area and our region. And I recognize when I go to serve in Washington, D.C., it's not going to be about reflecting establishment politics, it's going to be about fighting for the average working class person. And in that race, it became abundantly clear that there was going to be a lot of money stacked against me, and I still fought every single day representing the conservative values that I believed were best for our region, that I believed would help advance our region. And I'm still fighting for those same values today. It's still applicable, it's still true. And I'm honored to have the backing of my once-opponent, now a sitting congressman, who believes that we are truly a strong fighter and conservative for this region.

Taylor Popielarz: So much of Ohio is so interesting just to chronicle and watch politically. But the 13th district, especially in the 2016 election, was fascinating to watch. And I've traveled throughout the district a bunch, kind of reporting on President Trump's rise and then following through in the years after. I'm curious what you've noticed while campaigning in this cycle. Is President Trump still as popular as he was in the 13th district back in 2016?

Christina Hagan: Absolutely. The President is immensely popular in Ohio 13. In fact, his support and endorsement is incredibly meaningful in this district. But we have all walks of life. It's not just Republicans who are excited about the president, it’s Independents and Democrats. We have working class Democrats who have been in positions of leadership within the Democrat Party, who are fleeing to our side of the fence because their party no longer represents them. So I think for me, for a lot of normal working class Americans, the president has woken up an opportunity for the non-establishment style elected officials and leaders in the community and just small business owners and average constituents to have hope and a future that we didn't once have. I mean, people have been saying for decades that they're going to restore jobs and opportunity. But we've watched the failed policies of TPP, NAFTA offshore jobs and see our communities disparaged. And so I think about somebody like President Trump, he's restored hope for a lot of people. And in a way, as a supporter of President Trump, as a supporter of a conservative-style policy mindset, we're sharing that same mentality and helping northeast Ohio to feel like there's an opportunity to thrive again.

Taylor Popielarz: The president has been in Ohio a good amount in recent weeks and months. I know you've seen him when he was here at one point. He said at his rally in Swanton, and then he repeated this line in the first debate, where he said “Ohio had the best year in its history last year,” meaning 2019. But state data shows that 2019 was actually, and this was from a Dispatch article, “the worst year for employment in Ohio since the Great Recession." And then I'm sure you remember this, I think it was 2017, he was holding a rally in the Mahoning Valley and he told workers who worked at the Lordstown plant don't sell your homes, the plant will stay open. He also, this year, suggested that potential boycott against Goodyear in Akron. So I guess what is your message to voters in the Mahoning Valley who say, based off of those things alone, we feel the president doesn't understand us and doesn't understand the economic reality here. Why should we give him, and because your agenda is so aligned with him, you — him a second term and you a first term in Congress?

Christina Hagan: Yeah, absolutely. So I would say good policy takes time.  USMCA alone had sat on the desk of Congress for over a year. So that 2019, the duration of 2019 and into 2020, we were waiting on Pelosi and Ryan to act. They did not quickly give the seal of approval on USMCA, which would have helped to onshore hundreds of thousands of jobs, manufacturing specific, agriculture specific. So I would say it takes time for good policy and good leadership to resignate and inspire that job growth and opportunity. I can tell you that I've talked to many contractors, many business leaders in the district. And whether they move forward with projects or not depends on who wins on Election Day. So I think wholeheartedly people recognize that jobs and opportunity are aligned with this presidency. And whether this economy is going to be kickstarted or not is contingent on who takes the Oval Office. So although those jobs haven't transpired immediately, the president was dealing with decades of backlogs of missed opportunity and lack of representation from Congressman Tim Ryan and others, and just failed policies that made it inoperable to do business in Ohio 13. I mean, this was once a solidly blue district, from side to side, across the entire five counties, and has started progressively becoming more red, giving us state legislators, state reps, state senators for the first time, and some local and county level officials. So it takes time for policy to shift the mindset of those who are looking to invest jobs and opportunity, but we're starting to see things like Lordstown, GM Motors, and opportunities where we can actually see investments spur. And I would say the fact that the CEO of Lordstown Motors is with the president and not with Congress when he goes to visit D.C. is an indication of where his mindset is and where his belief is for the success of this country, and specifically this region.

Taylor Popielarz: Two more quick questions. Congressman Ryan has been in office for almost two decades. And I know that you're quick to criticize him for that. If you meet voters who maybe they say I don't agree with the congressman’s, you know, policies all the time, but they appreciate that he's been in D.C. for a long time. They appreciate that he is a senior member on the Appropriations Committee, that he has at least sway in that sense. Why do you argue to them it's worth it to hit reset and have somebody with a complete fresh start, who will be starting kind of at the bottom rung of the ladder?

Christina Hagan: So I'm actually happy to report to you that I have not met one single constituent who's brought to me his length of service as an attribute. I've heard that purely and only from the media. When I visited with the Tribune, Vindicator, others, those are the people that are pitching his longevity as some type of asset to the district. But average, everyday constituents do not feel that he's done anything to advocate for or bring jobs or opportunity to the district. What they feel is the very real and palatable economic loss that they have experienced firsthand. I mean, when I'm out knocking doors, people are telling me hey, I'm driving to Toledo for a job that takes time out that I used to be able to spend with my family at the dinner table. That's one more hour of a commute. People do not have confidence in his style of leadership. They do not feel that they've been advocated for well. They feel that three bills, two of which were Post Office or highway namings, are not significant and enough of a reason to reelect him. And I do hear from the media, oh he serves on really important, strong committees and he might be a vice chairman next term. And I would just simply say that being a vice chairman after nearly 20 years in Congress is not something to be proud of. I was a vice chair in the state legislature, I think by my second or third term. So six or eight years into the job, as one of 99, I was immediately in a position of leadership advocating for our community and advocating for jobs and opportunity related to the energy sector. I don't think that there's any loss for this constituency, for this community. And we are quick learners and will be quick to advocate for the district. We understand the legislative process as former legislators here in the state of Ohio. But I do not think if a person is in a position of power, and they do nothing with it, if you've actually seen loss related to that committee's expertise, which we have, if you look at our reserve base, we have less than half the aircraft we had when Congressman Tim Ryan started.  He's on the committee that's supposed to be allocating those types of resources to districts, so for somebody who's in a position of power, I'd say he hasn't leveraged it well for this district.

Taylor Popielarz: And then lastly, 2020 has been a weird year because of the pandemic and a whole lot of other things. What has been most surprising for you throughout this campaign?

Christina Hagan: What has been…[laughs] I think the most unexpected change in this election, in this campaign season was just managing and dealing with COVID, just like every other person. When that happened, I mean, everybody pressed pause. The whole world, you know, kind of retracted into our own homes. Nobody knew what was going on. We're all trying to get information. We're all watching the daily briefings from the White House, trying to know and understand what was happening to our country, what was happening globally, what this pandemic meant for our economy, for our health, for the well being of our families. So I think the craziest thing that happened was a global pandemic. I mean, nobody anticipated that, nobody saw that coming, and what it did to, in a normal election season, I mean, it's changed everything. It's dramatically impacted the way we campaign, the way we reach voters, the way we interact with voters. What our campaign strategy on the ground would look like. If we were going to go door to door. Should we go door to door? Will there be social distancing? The pandemic has changed a lot about our ways of lives. Of course, it's made us better at things like Zoom, and the way that we can efficiently communicate with people. But it definitely has changed a lot about America. And I think it's given us all an opportunity to press pause and be close to our families, but also the realization that we are vulnerable as a country, we're vulnerable as an entire population. And we have to be mindful of what can be waged upon us naturally or intentionally. But just being aware of how quickly our economy can be shut down, and our lives can be shut down right before our very eyes.

Taylor Popielarz: I want to sneak one more question in, if you'll let me. I know you’ve got to get going. With the pandemic, because you've so closely aligned yourself with the president, are you critical at all of how his administration has responded to it, as over 210,000 Americans have died from it?

Christina Hagan: So I actually am very close with the former director of EMA for the state of Virginia, now the FEMA director of the entire country. And I got on calls with him early on, his wife is a dear friend of mine. And I was listening to what might be the implication of this type of pandemic and how, best case scenario, we would have 300,000 lives lost. And then I listened to every single press briefing that the White House presented, that the task force presented. And I remember listening to the guidance of Fauci and Birx, and it all became very surreal listening to all of that, but I thought that the president did a great job of making the information available and transparent through the duration of this. Of course, people can always criticize his personality, like you either love it or you hate it. Nothing has changed there since before or after the pandemic, he's still who he is as a leader with his personality style. But ultimately, I think he did the right thing in getting the American people as much information as possible on a daily basis, and then allowing for our state governments to do what they do best and govern in these situations. As you can see, between the President and Governor DeWine, they've had very different approaches, very different interactions. I've been blessed to have the support of both leaders. And I have a recognition that the role of the federal government is very different than the role and the sovereignty of the states. As a former state legislator, I have a deep appreciation for the fact that governance is better on a state by state basis than the president of the United States telling the governors exactly what should happen within the confines of their states and their boundaries. So, I do respect that the resources remain available, that he advocated for the things that we might need most like ventilators and supplies. He had hospitalization beds available for us, he had the ventilators available for us. He enacted powers that maybe I wouldn't even have enacted as somebody who believes in a stringent federal government. But he did what he thought was best in a moment of panic for the entire country. And he made sure we had everything that we need. Has he gotten a lot of credit? No. Will he? No. Criticism has been unrelenting every single day of the week for years on end. But I think he did what he could do in a very difficult space. And ultimately, at the end of the day, when I was hearing that a stringent loss of lives would be 300,000, and realistically, we're looking at half a million lives lost, and the fact that we ended up around 200,000, in the recognition that many of those were comorbidity, having underlying conditions and the data is back and being reported that, you know, 96% of the cases had that comorbidity, some other underlying condition, I think that the president did what he could do in a difficult space and did very well.

Taylor Popielarz: Is there anything else you want to add I haven't asked you about?

Christina Hagan: Bryan [a staffer in the room], anything we're missing? No, I think that's good.

Taylor Popielarz: All right. Thanks so much.

Christina Hagan: I appreciate it. Appreciate the opportunity.