About
Bob Gibbs (R-Ohio) served Ohio’s 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from January 2011–23. Facing a stiff primary challenge from Trump-backed candidate Max Miller in a district that changed due to redistricting, he chose not to run for reelection in 2022.
Gibbs is a farmer and former president of the Ohio Farm Bureau. In 2013 he introduced a bill to prevent the Environmental Protection Agency from requiring permits for certain pesticides. In 2018, then-Vice President Mike Pence supported his congressional run through his Great America Committee PAC.
Gibbs is an alumnus of the right-wing American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and is a member of the National Rifle Association. As a congressman, he was also a member of the Republican Study Committee, which his congressional website described as “dedicated to a limited and Constitutional role for the federal government, a strong national defense, the protection of individual and property rights, and the preservation of traditional family values.”
After the 2020 presidential election, Gibbs helped spread the Big Lie and voted against certifying President Biden’s electoral win, impeaching Trump for inciting the mob, and establishing a special House committee to investigate the insurrection, among other measures.
In September 2021, Gibbs introduced articles of impeachment against President Biden on charges of mishandling of the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the U.S.-Mexico border, along with efforts to expand pandemic-related eviction protections.
January 6, 2021
- Just hours after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, Gibbs joined 146 other congressional Republicans in refusing to certify Biden’s win of the 2020 presidential election. In a prepared statement, he justified his vote by saying: “I believe fraudulent actions and illegal voting in one state dilutes the power and voice of voters in all states. I do not believe the allegations of fraud and improprieties have gotten their day in court….”
- Gibbs also voted against impeaching Trump for his role in inciting the attack on the Capitol and against invoking the 25th Amendment. In explaining his decisions, he noted in a prepared statement: “The violence of January 6th broke more than just windows and doors. It broke the important social norm of resolving our political differences peacefully. We should not break more norms by further trivializing serious actions like invoking the 25th Amendment or rushing impeachment.”
- Gibbs voted against establishing a House committee to investigate the Jan. 6 attack.
The Big Lie
- On Nov. 6 and Dec. 1, 2020, Gibbs signed letters from fellow House Republicans to Attorney General Bill Barr urging the Justice Department to investigate irregularities and accusations of fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
- On Dec. 10, 2020, Gibbs signed an amicus brief in a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the results of the presidential election in four swing states: Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
- On Dec. 17, 2020, Gibbs was one of 19 House Republicans who signed a letter to House committee members demanding an investigation into allegations of fraud in the 2020 election.
- In February 2021, Gibbs introduced a bill titled the Ensuring American Voters Act “to prevent foreign nationals from illegally registering to vote.”
- In March 2021, Gibbs introduced the No WIFI Act to amend the 2002 Help America Vote Act by prohibiting voting systems with the capability to wirelessly transmit data from being used in federal elections.