Mark Zetzer Declares “Battle of Lake Erie” for grassroots victory in OH-14

Congressional candidate Mark Zetzer Declares “Battle of Lake Erie” for grassroots victory in May 5th, 2026 Republican primary election in OH-14

RUSSELL, OH - Mark Zetzer, former Shaker Heights tax fighter and GOP nominee in Ohio’s 11th Congressional District, is forming a candidate committee to run for U.S. Representative in Ohio’s 14th District, in the May 5th, 2026 Republican primary election. The area includes Ashtabula, Lake, Geauga, Portage, and Trumbull counties in Northeast Ohio, and is currently represented by 7-term Republican Congressman, Dave Joyce, of South Russell.

Zetzer announced his candidacy for Congress in a striking video, in which he hoists a War of 1812 battle flag above a breezy Lake Erie beach, and speaks metaphorically about fighting an America First “Battle of Lake Erie” against establishment Left/Right politics. Zetzer compares his long shot bid to the decisive American naval victory that took place near Put n’ Bay on September 10th, 1813. His rousing declaration is accompanied by the triumphant finale of Tchaikovsky’s ‘1812 Overture,’ and the gratuitous boom of cannons.

Although short on specifics, Zetzer’s theatrical three-minute speech—shot on location at Headlands Beach State Park, in Mentor, Ohio—is long on history and symbolism. “Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry’s navy blue battle flag, with the phrase, ‘Don’t Give Up the Ship’, is an epic slogan for grassroots Republicans like myself,” Zetzer explained. “This flag is the War of 1812’s version of General Christopher Gadsden’s bright yellow, ‘Don’t Tread on Me,’ flag from the Revolutionary War. Both wars established American independence from British tyranny, and both flags express a fierce American defiance against attacks on our liberty,” Zetzer said.

Zetzer, who has lived in Russell Township since 2019, announced an exploratory committee in April to test the waters in next year’s midterm elections. “I’ve been asking district Republicans what they think of their U.S. Representative. Most have expressed resigned disappointment in Dave Joyce, saying that they don’t like many of his votes, but don’t think that anyone can defeat him in a primary,” Zetzer reported.

“That may be so,” Zetzer resumed, “but I still don’t trust Dave Joyce to cast America First votes in Congress, to Make America Great Again. For example, Joyce recently split with Republicans to protect a Democrat Congresswoman from censure. She was arrested in New Jersey for assaulting federal officers and interfering with an arrest. Why would Dave Joyce side with a violent agitator, and against law enforcement? This is one of many unforced errors that Joyce has made in his twelve years in office, by voting against his own party, and against law-abiding Americans,” Zetzer said.

“To be fair, what this Democrat lawmaker did seems minor compared to the deadly attacks on conservatives and Christians around the world,” Zetzer remarked. “Catholic schools and churches have been shot at in America, burned and vandalized in Canada, and bombed in Gaza; and Charlie Kirk was assassinated for being a successful conservative activist and an evangelical Christian,” Zetzer reported.

“Charlie did for America what educators could not: inspire our youth,” Zetzer eulogized. “Trapped in the despair of our captured institutions, their prospects dwindling, young men especially have been searching for the truth and meaning that Charlie defended in his debates. That’s why most of those caught trolling Charlie Kirk online since his death are America-hating teachers and professors, because Charlie Kirk was trolling them at schools about God and country,” Zetzer said.

“Go to MarkZetzerForCongress.com to learn more about my campaign, and how to support it,” Zetzer asked. “Don’t worry if you can’t donate, or volunteer your time and talents. Email me your thoughts and concerns about Northeast Ohio and the USA. Do what you can to defend your own life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. Don’t rely on others to do it for you, but I will certainly try,” Zetzer pledged.

“Liberty unites us, it doesn’t divide,” Zetzer concluded. “If we could keep what’s ours and live our own lives in peace, we might not feel the need to take from others and push them around. I’m asking everyone in the district who sincerely wants to earn a better life—and not just get ‘free stuff’—to vote for me, Mark Zetzer, for U.S. House of Representatives,” Zetzer implored.

“Ohio has an open primary election, and any registered voter can request a Republican ballot on election day, May 5th,” Zetzer clarified. “That includes Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Libertarians, Greens and yes, even Socialists too. After all, the nuclear family is a commune, in which voluntary love can overpower our natural selfishness. A family’s motto might be ‘Do Tread on Me,’ or, ‘I’ll Give the Ship to You’—but for everything else, there’s Liberty.”