WARREN, Ohio — Northeast Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan became the first Democrat to officially join Ohio’s 2022 U.S. Senate race on Monday.
What You Need To Know
- NE Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan is the first Democrat to enter Ohio’s 2022 U.S. Senate race
- Ryan had been expected to run once Sen. Rob Portman announced he would retire
- Ryan told Spectrum News his campaign will focus on workers
- It’s unclear if any other Democrat will jump into the field
“I’m Tim Ryan. I’m running for Senate, and I can’t wait to get Ohio working again,” Ryan said in a launch video focused on empty factories and talk of the future with his son, Brady.
In an interview with Spectrum News on Monday, Ryan said his campaign will be aimed at workers.
“Ohioans are working harder than ever before, they’re doing everything right, and they still can’t get ahead,” Ryan said. “And they’re going to vote for a candidate who’s going to help cut them in on the deal, and I’ve got a long record of doing that.”
Ryan has spent the last 18 years in the U.S. House and briefly ran for president in 2019.
He becomes the first Democrat to enter the race to succeed Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) who is set to retire.
Ryan argued Ohioans want someone prepared for the job and his two decades on Capitol Hill make him more than ready.
“They’re going to want somebody in the Senate who knows how to get things done and I’ve got a long record of getting things done,” Ryan said.
Any Democrat running statewide in Ohio faces an uphill battle.
Former President Donald Trump won the Buckeye State twice and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is the only Democrat who holds statewide office.
Ryan said his campaign will borrow from Brown’s “Dignity of Work” platform and focus on his own record of supporting labor unions.
“Yeah, Sherrod and I have very similar views and voting records, and we’re very aligned around these issues of workers first and cutting workers in on the deal,” Ryan said.
Ryan’s Mahoning Valley district (OH-13) has gotten more conservative in recent years as factories have closed and folks feel left behind.
But Ryan said bread and butter issues like good-paying jobs, strong schools and access to health care appeal to voters in both parties. He’s hoping that approach will separate him from a Republican field that already features four declared candidates who are largely focused on catering to former President Trump.
Ryan, who raised more than $1 million in the first quarter of the year, is the Democratic frontrunner as the race gets started, but he is also a white man in a party pledging to be more diverse.
Two Black Democrats in Ohio — Statehouse Minority Leader Emilia Sykes and Franklin County Commissioner Kevin Boyce — are considering their own Senate runs.
“All I can say is, look, I’m going to work my rear end off for workers, whether they’re white or Black or male or female, whether they work in the health care industry or the service industry or they drive truck or in manufacturing, I’m going to fight like hell for them and that’s all I can promise and people know I have a long record of doing that,” Ryan said.
Matt Keyes, spokesperson for the Ohio Democratic Party, said the party is open to hearing from any and all its candidates.
“We look forward to hearing any Democratic candidates who enter the race talk about the issues that are important to Ohio voters, in direct contrast to the Republican candidates that have spent the last few months attacking one another rather than making their case to Ohioans,” Keyes said in a statement.
Ryan’s campaign launch came on the same day the U.S. Census Bureau announced Ohio will lose one of its 16 congressional districts next year based on population data.
While it won’t be known for months which district will be drawn off the map, Democrats and Republicans across the state have said Ryan’s 13th District could be on the chopping block.
