WASHINGTON: US Representative Tim Ryan, a moderate Ohio Democrat from a blue-collar district who has touted his appeal to the working-class voters who fled the party in 2016, said on Thursday he will enter the 2020 White House race.
Ryan, 45, who represents a northeastern Ohio area that has lost manufacturing jobs in recent years and shifted to Republican Donald Trump in the 2016 White House race, made the announcement on a campaign website.
“I know how to get elected in working-class districts,” Ryan said in an appearance on “The View,” an ABC morning talk show. “Trump has been full of promises and hasn’t delivered on anything.”
Ryan bolstered his national profile in 2016 when he unsuccessfully tried to unseat Nancy Pelosi as the Democratic leader in the US House of Representatives, arguing it was time for new leadership in the party.
But as a white moderate from a working-class district, he will face questions about whether he fits the times in a party that is becoming more diverse and is increasingly driven by its progressive wing.
He is the 17th candidate for the Democratic nomination to seek the White House in 2020, including black, Hispanic and openly gay candidates as well as a record six women. The winner will likely face Trump in the general election.
But Ryan said on “The View” that he had a progressive record on economic issues, and would push for new job creation programmes that would put a priority on wind and solar energy, electric vehicles and other new technologies.
“I understand that legacy of job loss,” he said. “I understand where we need to go. The country is so divided right now that we can’t get a plan together.”
Despite nine terms in Congress, Ryan lacks the name recognition and support network of some of his better-known rivals. — Reuters
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
