First Rabbi In Congress? Not in 2018

Rabbi Robert Barr Image by Sam Cooper

By Nathan Guttman February 6, 2018

Rabbi Robert Barr set out in October to become America’s first rabbi in Congress.

This week, he ended his race.

In a statement issued Tuesday, the Reform rabbi from Cincinnati announced his withdrawal from the race, claiming that he is doing so in order to make room for Aftab Pureval, an up-and-coming local Democrat considered to have a better chance of defeating four-term incumbent Republican Rep. Steve Chabot.

“My campaign was motivated by the same belief that drew me to become a rabbi,” Barr said in his statement. “The belief that each of us needs to leave our world better than we found it, and I will continue to do my part,”

Barr’s 10-week-long campaign managed to raise more funds than his rivals and won praise from the Democratic establishment. The communications director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Meredith Kelly, said Barr’s “values-driven and competitive campaign helped put this district in play and expand the map.”

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

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