Rep. Dave Taylor Hosts Ohio Trucking Leaders at Chillicothe Kenworth Plant Ahead of Nov. 3 Race

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CHILLICOTHE, Ohio. U.S. Rep. Dave Taylor met this week with the Ohio Trucking Association and local trucking executives at the Kenworth plant for a roundtable on freight, road safety, and what Congress can do for carriers and drivers.

Taylor’s office said the Oct. 6 discussion at Kenworth focused on trucking’s role in Ohio’s economy and on challenges companies are facing. Industry representatives talked about how federal policy could support the sector and improve safety on Ohio roads. The American Trucking Associations had listed the session as a chance to raise lawsuit abuse and highway-bill provisions Taylor has sponsored.

Taylor, a Republican who represents Ohio’s 2nd Congressional District, sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. In December 2025 he and colleagues, including Rep. Shomari Figures, a Democrat from Alabama, launched the bipartisan Congressional Trucking Caucus. Taylor has described himself as its founder and founding member.

At the plant he said America’s trucking industry moves 11 billion tons of goods more than 300 billion miles a year and is the backbone of the economy. He said he would keep supporting Ohio truck drivers, strong commercial driver’s license standards, and safer sharing of the road by trucks and families.

Those freight figures track industry data. The American Trucking Associations estimated domestic truck tonnage at 11.27 billion tons in 2024, after more than 11 billion tons in 2023. The group also reported that single-unit and combination trucks traveled 329.86 billion miles in 2023.

The host site is one of Ross County’s largest employers. Kenworth, a PACCAR company, said in March 2024 that the Chillicothe plant employed about 2,500 people, was Kenworth’s largest factory, and had built more than 782,000 trucks since opening in 1974. The company said it had invested $300 million in the plant since 2018. A plant manager referred to about 2,500 employees in a January 2025 interview. State incentive paperwork for a 2018 expansion listed 2,244 full-time equivalent jobs and an annual payroll of about $155.4 million, with the project expected to add roughly $6.6 million more. Kenworth has not published a newer official payroll total. A 2024 account described layoffs in the hundreds. In August 2026 the plant advertised a hiring event with a starting wage of $33.09 an hour.

That payroll has mattered more since the historic Chillicothe paper mill, long known locally as Mead and later operated by Pixelle Specialty Solutions, closed in 2025. Reports at the time put the affected workforce at about 850. A new owner has said limited paper production could return, but not at the old scale right away.

Taylor is running for a second term in the U.S. House, not a different office. He won the seat in 2024. All House seats are on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot. He advanced from the May 5 Republican primary with 75 percent of the vote, 51,885 to 17,321, over Bob Carr. Certified results list his general-election opponent as Democrat Jen Mazzuckelli, a former high school English teacher. Outside rating services have called the district solid or safe Republican.

His trucking record lines up with the Chillicothe remarks. Available bills and committee actions do not show a vote against the CDL standards he is promoting. Most of the measures have not become law on their own.

• He introduced Connor’s Law, H.R. 3608, in May 2025. It would require English proficiency testing for commercial drivers and allow licenses to be revoked when that standard is not met. It was referred to the Highways and Transit Subcommittee.

• He introduced the Commercial Motor Vehicle English Proficiency Act to require CDL knowledge testing in English.

• A provision from Connor’s Law was included in Dalilah’s Law, which the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved 35 to 26. That bill would require English ability, tighten who can receive a CDL, and raise penalties on states that do not comply.

• He sponsored the Non-Domiciled CDL Reporting Act, H.R. 8640, in April 2026.

• On May 22, 2026, he backed the BUILD America 250 Act, H.R. 8870, which cleared the same committee 62 to 2. His office said the bill carried three of his items: the Towing Safety Act, a resolution supporting study of an I-73 corridor south from Columbus, and the SAFE Act, aimed at identifying chameleon carriers at registration.

Those steps match what he told the roundtable. They are sponsorships and committee advances, not final statutes.

Next in Ross County: Chillicothe Mill Jobs: What they Pay and How To Apply

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