KENT, Ohio — Ahead of Election Day, Democratic Congressman Tim Ryan spoke exclusively with Spectrum Washington bureau reporter Taylor Popielarz about his race against Republican Christina Hagan in the 13th District.
You can watch the full, uncut conversation above or read the full transcript below.
And you can watch the full report on the race in the 13th Congressional District by clicking here.
Taylor Popielarz: So first off, I want to start with a bit of a cliche question, but you’ve been in Congress now for almost two decades, since 2003. Why do you want to stay in? Especially at a time when the institution is viewed so unfavorably?
Rep. Tim Ryan: You know, we’re getting a lot done back home. I mean, we’ve got some huge projects that were supposed to come online this year. And unfortunately, with COVID, they’re going to be next year. We got an electric vehicle company coming to the Lordstown plant, a beautiful electric truck. We got General Motors coming in with a huge battery plant, 1,100 jobs. We just landed a TJX logistics facility, 1,100 jobs. Our energy incubator’s just kicking butt. We’ve got 3D printing, we’ve got business software. So locally, we’ve got a lot going on. And I’ve been able to help with my position on the Appropriations Committee for all of this. I just want to keep it going. You know, I got into Congress to try to help the local area, and then it becomes more global as you get there. But that’s really the big motivating factor to just keep going.
Taylor Popielarz: So you’re not frustrated by —
Rep. Tim Ryan: Oh, I’m frustrated. Oh, come on! I’m as frustrated as can be. I mean, you know, because we’ve been able to do all this really with a broken federal government, really going back to 2010. I think once we started climbing out of the recession, and we got the divided government, it’s just been really hard at the national level. And we’ve still been able to do all of this. So my thinking is, like, if we can get Joe Biden in and a Democratic Senate, man we could — communities like ours could really take off.
Taylor Popielarz: You’ve obviously run a lot of campaigns in this district. This year, this cycle, what are your top two or three legislative priorities when you’re going around to people and saying, keep me in because this time we’re focusing on x, y and z.
Rep. Tim Ryan: Well get through this pandemic. And that wraps itself into health care. I mean, so many people are concerned about health care costs, health care coverage, and there’s a real clear contrast between me and my opponent, and I think Joe Biden and Donald Trump. They want to literally take people off of health care, 20 million people. My opponent wasn’t for expanding Medicaid in the state of Ohio. And we’re for expanding it, making it more affordable, putting in a public option to keep prices down for people and expand prescription drug coverage. So that really is the issue. You know, it’s jobs and health care, jobs and the economy. I mean, those are the issues, but none of that happens until you get COVID-19 under control. And I think we’ve shown we know at least how to best approach that, following the science as opposed to what’s happening now.
Taylor Popielarz: Your opponent refers to you over and over again as a career politician. And I know she served several terms at the state level and she’s now running for more office, so you could argue the same thing. But do you encounter people in the district who say, hey, Tim, you’ve been in office for a while, maybe a fresh start might benefit the district? What do you say to that?
Rep. Tim Ryan: Well, you can’t get anything done as a one-termer or two-termer in Congress. It takes time. It took me years to be able to get on the Appropriations Committee. Now I’m bringing back hundreds of millions of dollars, so why would we cash that in for someone who’s going to go to the back of the line? And people in my area are pretty savvy about that. I mean, you know, when you look at Jim Traficant, for example, with all his [inaudible], I mean, he was a chair of a committee and we have two courthouses in downtown Youngstown because of the committee he sat on; huge transportation projects that he was able to get because of the committee he sat on. So people in northeast Ohio, you know, Lou Stokes up in Cleveland, and you know, people know — Ralph Regula in Canton was able to do wonders for the hospitals in northeast Ohio. And so people in our area, I think, appreciate the fact that you need a little bit of seniority to get anything done in Congress, it’s part of our culture. So you know, people coming in saying they’re going to be able to do everything that I’ve been able to do is just not true. I mean, we brought back $4 billion over the course of my career in different levels of funding. And so, you know, we’re going to keep that going.
Taylor Popielarz: As you’re running to keep your seat in the House, have you looked back on your presidential campaign and do you have any regrets that you even tried to run for president? I’m curious if you’ve encountered constituents who said, that made me feel like you were sick of your current job or you didn’t want to represent just us anymore and you wanted kind of that bigger picture?
Rep. Tim Ryan: Yeah, I don’t regret it for one second. And I tell people who say, you know, did you forget us? Is that why you did it? And my immediate response is, I did it for you. I did it for us, the communities that I felt have been left behind, and wanted to put pressure on the system and maybe get somebody in the White House who actually understood what Akron, Ohio was all about, or Youngstown, Ohio — working class troubles were all about. And it is frustrating in D.C. to be one of 435 and not be able to move the needle, so I don’t regret taking that chance at all. And fortunately, we got somebody from Scranton, who I think carries that same torch for us, so I don’t regret it at all. And you know, I think I have now relationships with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and a lot of the people who will make their way into the administration to be able to help us, you know, further down the road. And you know, it was for them more than anybody else.
Taylor Popielarz: As I’ve looked back on your time in Congress, your policy mind, your political mind has obviously evolved in certain ways. And I remember when you were running for president, there was certain criticisms, certain people applauding the fact that you seemed to be approaching more liberal policies as you were trying to appeal to a national audience. Do you feel especially for this district that you maybe went a little too far left during the presidential campaign?
Rep. Tim Ryan: No, not at all. I mean, my focus has always been and, you know, it depends on who you talk to, because a lot of people in the primary were like, Tim’s not liberal, he’s too moderate to win the nomination. And so it all depends on who you’re talking to. But you know, you grow in your experiences as you meet more people and you have more experiences and you learn more about issues. And to me, that’s part of the job. You want to get better, you know, and I think your positions do change as you learn more —I hope they would, as you have new facts, and the world has changed so much. And so, just adapting — my beliefs change like anybody else’s.
Taylor Popielarz: The president has mentioned you by name a couple times over the summer, as I’m sure you’re aware. In July, he tweeted while endorsing your opponent that he said, you keep “failing Ohio.” And then when he was here in Ohio in August, he said, “You only talk about jobs.” But he said it in a way to imply that in his mind, you only talk and you don’t follow through with anything. I guess, because this district did — the president won this district and he flipped it — the first Republican to do it in a long, long time. What do you say to people who take stock in what he says and say, well explain yourself?
Rep. Tim Ryan: Well, he didn’t win the district. He won three of the five counties. But Hillary did win the district, I think 51 to 43 or something. Well, I would just say, look, I do talk about jobs all the time. That is my obsession for this community. And when I think he’s aligned with what we need to do, like the United States Mexican trade agreement, I support him; being firmer on China with some of the trade issues, I support him; some of the stuff he’s doing with the military, I support him. I never let my personal feelings for him get in the way of what I want to do. But I think when you look at what’s happening right now, Lordstown Motors electric vehicle coming into the old Lordstown facility; General Motors coming in with 1,100 jobs, $2.3 billion investment for a new battery plant. And you look at TJX out in Lordstown — 1,100 jobs. You see what we’re doing around the new economy. This takes a long time. And so, I’ve used my position. I wish I had a magic wand. But when you look at what was going to happen this year, and is now going to happen next year, we’re going have thousands of jobs in northeast Ohio because of the work that we’ve been able to do. And you know, he can talk all he wants, and if he wants to be a part of the solution, I’m happy to work with him.
Taylor Popielarz: I was in Lordstown earlier, I was talking to some people as I was getting video of campaign signs everywhere. And I spoke with this couple, they were big Trump supporters, so I’ll put that out there. But I asked them, I said did it bother you when President Trump came to the Mahoning Valley, I think it was in 2017, and promised people to not sell their homes, that their jobs would stay. And this couple that I spoke with, they said maybe the president shouldn’t have said that, but we point the finger at the politicians who have been here longer and tried, unsuccessfully in their eyes, to keep GM here. They named you, they named the former mayor of Lordstown. What do you say to people who say, well, you’re from here, you’ve been in office for almost two decades. You know, the blame does fall on you just because you’ve been here longer.
Rep. Tim Ryan: I would just say, you know, especially with a lot of people who don’t support me, all of the negatives are my fault and all of the positives go to President Trump. So you know, it’s basically politics. But I would tell them, look, you know, we have some cutting edge things that are happening in the valley right now. I mean, there are building and construction trade union jobs being created now. People are in these facilities, getting them prepared. The investments have started, things are moving forward. It took a long time, but we were devastated. And we had no plan. And I’ve been able to use my position on the Appropriations Committee and policy-wise to really support the kind of things that are happening out there. And now, you know, even in this budget now that will pass probably after the election — in this budget, we have $15 million where Oak Ridge National Labs will partner with Youngstown State University around battery research in Youngstown, in and around Youngstown, Ohio. That’s how you build that new economy out. Four airplanes, new C-130Js for the Air Force Reserve; $30 million for our air base; $20 million for Camp Garfield. I mean, we’ve brought home hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars for economic development projects. And that’s part of what’s happening now. And it just takes time. I say to people who mention that to me, I just say, look, I’m from Niles. I went to school in Warren. My family’s here. Like if I had a magic wand, I would wave it immediately. I don’t want my kids to leave here. I want us all to be able to stay here and live here. And so I’m doing every single thing in my power. And it’s happening now. And I wish it happened five years ago, but these things take time.
Taylor Popielarz: Couple political questions real quick. Gino de Fabio filed an FCC complaint against your ad about the ‘Wrong Hagan.’ And I know he was featured in the RNC. I know he’s a big Trump guy. Should that ad, though, have included more of a formal campaign disclosure?
Rep. Tim Ryan: Well, it did.
Taylor Popielarz: I know at the end, it featured your name. I guess, do you view any legitimacy to his complaint?
Rep. Tim Ryan: No. I mean, look, it’s a technical issue. And he’s just trying to make some hay, which I’m glad he did because it actually got the ad more airtime clarifying that Christina Hagan lives outside of the district and is not the Hagan from the Hagan family in Youngstown. So he actually, through his initiative, brought more attention to the exact issue I wanted the attention to be brought to. But that was not our ad that we ran on TV, our ad that we ran, that we paid for, had the disclaimer. That was just one of the preliminary — think on social media, before it was done kind of thing. So the ones we ran on TV all had the disclaimer. Yeah.
Taylor Popielarz: During the primary Hagan won 66% of the vote. Her opponent who came in second has since endorsed you, but since a lot of this district went for the president in 2016, I guess, how are you approaching — you’re obviously, you’ve gotten reelected many times, you know, you’re popular enough to have stayed in office for almost two decades. How are you approaching this race differently, knowing that you have an opponent who is running pretty much parallel to the president, who is pretty popular here?
Rep. Tim Ryan: Well, we’re contrasting that she does not live in the district, you know, her kids don’t go to the schools, she doesn’t drink the same water, she doesn’t pay taxes. And I don’t think she understands the issues, really, that are surrounding this district, because two years ago, she ran in a district, congressional district, that she didn’t live in again, and tried to move into her cousin’s house to make it look like she did. I mean, it was like she’s district shopping, and our folks want someone who understands the community. Look, I’m not going to agree with everybody on everything, but I think the fact that the person who came in second place in the Republican primary against Christina Hagan endorsed me, that’s a significant signal to people of how extreme she is. I mean, she’s anti-worker, she led on Senate Bill 5, which is to get rid of collective bargaining rights for police and fire and teachers and nurses. She is for right to work, which would get rid of the ability to organize for all those building and construction trade people who are working in the natural gas industry. So she just doesn’t represent the district. Maybe there’s a district out there like Jim Jordan’s that she can go represent. But I just don’t think she represents this area. And I think people who don’t even agree with me, you know, a lot or 50% of the time or whatever, are still going to vote for me because they know that I represent them. And here’s what I tell them. I say, look, we may not agree on everything, but I’m the guy who took on Nancy Pelosi, I’m the guy who got in a fight with Bernie Sanders on the stage, and I’m the guy who gets in a fight with Donald Trump. Because I represent my people. I’m a United States representative, and my job is to represent you. And so we may not always agree, but I want you to know that I will take on anybody who I think is somehow going against the policies that will help our people. And I think people understand that about me. And the record is clear, and I’ve been very public against Democrats and very public against Republicans.
Taylor Popielarz: Speaking of Nancy Pelosi, that’s a great segue to my next question —
Rep. Tim Ryan: Glad I could help you.
Taylor Popielarz: Thanks so much. [laughs] Appreciate it. Obviously, you challenged her a few years ago, and then you struck a deal with her this time around for her to regain the speakership. Do you think moving forward after this election, should she stay as the top leader of the party?
Rep. Tim Ryan: You know, that’s a conversation for after the election. I think we are in such a free fall right now with everything that’s going on, with the president, with COVID-19, in the middle of a global pandemic. You know, we need some steady leadership, which is what we’re arguing with Joe Biden. So I think that’s a conversation for after the election.
Taylor Popielarz: And another D.C. related question — and here — with the pandemic, I’ve been asking every incumbent this as I’ve been reporting this week, because of the federal government’s failure to respond to the pandemic adequately — we have over 210,000 Americans dead at this point and it’s growing — is that reason enough for any voter, whether it’s in this district or elsewhere, to look at their current representative and say, you’ve let me down, you don’t deserve to stay in office.
Rep. Tim Ryan: I think it depends on what you’re standing for. I mean, if you have a representative like me who wants to push and fund the issues that would help you most, I think you should keep them. You know, unemployment extension, money for small businesses, restaurants, save our stages, all of these — first responders, state and government, education. If you have someone pushing that stuff, in which we did, and passed it out of the House, met our obligation, I think we should look elsewhere. And then vast majority of the problem is in the United States Senate.
Taylor Popielarz: This came up off camera before we started talking, but I’m curious, I know right now you’re focused on this race. But future-wise, there’s going to be — Rob Portman is up for reelection in 2022. Are you considering a run for Senate or a run for governor, especially after running for president and did that increase your desire to run for either statewide office or national office?
Rep. Tim Ryan: Not at all. I’m going be vice chair of the Defense Appropriations Committee, which is a significant job, I mean, that appropriations bill is $780 billion a year, which is how I’ve been able to bring all these dollars back to our community with my position on the Appropriations Committee. So at this point, I’m really focused on that job and keeping that job and really expanding. We have so many exciting things going on, I could give you a laundry list. Through the Defense Committee, through the research that’s happening there. I’m just, you know, and I’ve got a young family. Our oldest plays football and our youngest is in flag football. And you know, you don’t want to miss that stuff. So I do know what a campaign does to your family. I know how much time on the road it takes, even a statewide campaign. And that would just be all in for two years. So I’m pretty happy right now. And I think our district is benefiting from where I am.
Taylor Popielarz: And then last question for you, especially campaigning in the midst of a pandemic, something nobody’s ever done before. What’s been most surprising about this race this year for you?
Rep. Tim Ryan: Well, the lack of contact. I mean, you know, northeast Ohio, we missed all the church festivals, we missed all the county fairs, we missed all the football games that I used to stand out and shake hands as people were coming in and out of the games, then go and watch the games. Missing that is, you know, you get to enjoy it. That’s your public bath that Lincoln used to talk about politicians needing to take — those were my public baths. And I love doing it and I love meeting the people and just, you know, not having that is really, really different. And trying to trying to get a beat on things, calling people like what are you hearing and those kind of phone calls, and really trying to probe the people you can get in touch with. But there’s nothing like being out in the fall in a place like Ohio and really touching the people and you know, it’s kind of weird, but I kind of miss it.
Taylor Popielarz: I guess that’s a good sign. Is there anything else you want to add I haven’t asked you about?
Rep. Tim Ryan: No, I think we covered covered most of it.
Taylor Popielarz: We went through my list, so.
Rep. Tim Ryan: Yeah, you had a nice list. Longer than normal. [laughs]