Greg Landsman Bio
Gregory John Landsman (born December 4, 1976) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Ohio’s 1st congressional district since 2023. A Democrat from Cincinnati, he previously served on the Cincinnati City Council from 2018 to 2022. Before entering electoral politics, he built a career in nonprofit and community leadership, including senior roles at StrivePartnership and the Preschool Promise initiative.
Landsman was recruited by national Democrats to challenge 13-term Republican incumbent Steve Chabot in 2022 and won that race. He has since won re-election and represents a district centered on Cincinnati and its inner suburbs.
Early Life and Background
Gregory John Landsman was born on December 4, 1976, in Cincinnati, Ohio, and raised there in a Jewish family. Growing up in the city that would later define his political career gave him an early grounding in the local civic and community institutions of southwest Ohio.
He went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and political science from Ohio University in 1999, followed by a Master of Arts degree in theological studies from Harvard Divinity School in 2004. In 2007, Governor Ted Strickland appointed Landsman to serve as his director of faith-based and community initiatives, a role that connected his policy interests with his religious studies background.
Path to US Politics
Before seeking public office, Landsman worked as a nonprofit and community leader. He served as executive director of StrivePartnership until December 2015, focusing on education and workforce outcomes in the region. He then led the Preschool Promise initiative, an effort to make two years of preschool available to all three- and four-year-olds in Cincinnati. The program was folded into a joint levy with Cincinnati Public Schools, and the levy passed in November 2016.
Landsman first ran for the Cincinnati City Council in 2013 and lost. He returned to the ballot in 2017 and won a council seat in the November general election, beginning a period of local office that would last until 2022. In 2021, national Democrats recruited him to run for the U.S. House of Representatives seat from Ohio’s 1st congressional district.
Greg Landsman Career
Early Career (2013–2017)
Landsman’s first direct step into electoral politics came in 2013, when he ran for the Cincinnati City Council and lost. The experience did not deter him, and in 2017 he ran again for a council seat. This time he succeeded, winning one of the council’s seats in the November general election and beginning his career in public office.
During this period he also expanded his nonprofit profile, including leading the Preschool Promise initiative through its successful 2016 levy campaign. That dual track of community organizing and policy work helped establish the local network that would later support his move to higher office.
Cincinnati City Council Era (2018–2022)
Landsman represented Cincinnati on the Cincinnati City Council from 2018 to 2022, winning re-election in 2021. Early in his council tenure, in 2018, he and four other councilors became known as the “Gang of Five” after they were found to be discussing city business via text messages, including conversations about retaining the city manager and rebalancing power with the mayor. In March 2019, the group agreed to turn over the messages to settle a lawsuit filed by a local anti-tax activist, and the records were made publicly searchable. No criminal charges were filed.
Congressional Era (2023–Present)
Landsman took office on January 7, 2023, as the U.S. representative for Ohio’s 1st congressional district. During the 118th Congress, he served on the Small Business Committee and the Veterans’ Affairs Committee. In March 2023, he supported the bipartisan Rail Act, which called for increased train inspections and stronger penalties following the Norfolk Southern freight train derailment disaster in East Palestine, Ohio.
In 2024, he co-sponsored the bipartisan NO BOSS Act, which encourages states to offer self-employment assistance programs that allow entrepreneurs to collect unemployment benefits while starting their own businesses. Also in 2024, he introduced the Medicare PBM Accountability Act to increase transparency by requiring pharmacy benefit managers to disclose profits and address pricing discrepancies. In mid-July 2024, he called for Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, and later in October he co-sponsored the bipartisan What Works for Preventing Veteran Suicide Act to strengthen suicide prevention and mental health support for veterans. In 2023, he also co-introduced the bipartisan Enhancing COPS Hiring Program Grants for Local Law Enforcement Act and introduced the Making Insulin Affordable for All Children Act, which aimed to cap insulin costs at $35 per month for individuals aged 26 and younger with private insurance or Medicaid.
Notable Events and Milestones
Landsman’s signature moment came in the 2022 general election, when he defeated 13-term Republican incumbent Steve Chabot by a vote of 151,418 (53%) to 137,213 (47%), flipping a seat that Chabot had held for all but one term since 1995. On November 5, 2024, he won re-election against Republican Orlando Sonza by a vote of 208,650 (55%) to 174,621 (45%), becoming only the third Democrat to represent a significant portion of Cincinnati for more than one term since the Civil War.
Greg Landsman Career Wins
Greg Landsman has built a record of electoral wins that spans local and federal office. From his first Cincinnati City Council victory in 2017 to his 2022 congressional upset and 2024 re-election, he has consistently outperformed expectations in a closely watched Ohio district.
U.S. House Highlights
Landsman captured Ohio’s 1st congressional district in 2022 with 53 percent of the vote against longtime incumbent Steve Chabot. He secured the seat again in 2024, winning 55 percent of the vote against Republican Orlando Sonza and joining a small group of Democrats to hold the Cincinnati-area seat for more than one term in the modern era.
Other Wins and Achievements
In 2017, Landsman won a seat on the Cincinnati City Council and was re-elected in 2021, serving through 2022. He also led the Preschool Promise levy campaign, which passed in November 2016 and expanded preschool access in Cincinnati.
Greg Landsman Family
Family Background and Community Roots
Gregory John Landsman was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, in a Jewish family, with deep ties to the city that he would later represent. His early life in Cincinnati shaped his approach to community-based policy work and grassroots organizing.
Personal Life
Landsman lives with his wife, Sarah, and their two children in Mount Washington, a neighborhood on Cincinnati’s east side. He is married to Sarah Landsman, and the family has been based in the Cincinnati area throughout his political career.