UPDATE | Ryan makes it official: He's challenging Pelosi

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan has made it official: He is launching a challenge to House minority leader Nancy Pelosi.

In a letter to the House Democratic Caucus, Ryan announced his intention to seek the top spot in leadership elections scheduled for Nov. 30.

"While having a position in Democratic Leadership has never been my life’s ambition, after this election I believe we all need to re-evaluate our roles within the Caucus, the Democratic Party, and our country," Ryan wrote. " That is why I am announcing my run for Minority Leader of the Democratic Caucus and humbly request your support."

In the letter, Ryan listed a litany of failures among Democrats in recent years.

"Over the last 18 years, Democrats have only been in the majority of the House of Representatives for two terms and last week’s election results set us back even further," he wrote. "We have lost over 60 seats since 2010. We have the fewest Democrats in state and federal offices since Reconstruction.

"Under our current leadership, Democrats have been reduced to our smallest congressional minority since 1929. This should indicate to all of us that keeping our leadership team completely unchanged will simply lead to more disappointment in future elections," Ryan said in the letter.

“I don’t know if it’s me, but it’s someone like me” who should lead the House Democrats, Ryan of Howland, D-13th, told The Vindicator earlier this week when asked if he would mount a challenge to Pelosi. The party needs someone “like me, who has constituents and friends who are steelworkers or work in construction. The economy and blue-collar jobs are important for us as a party. We need leaders who can go into these Great Lakes districts” and relate to the people there.

Pelosi of San Francisco already has lined up strong support for her re-election and wasn’t willing to change a scheduled Thursday leadership vote. That is until a private Tuesday meeting of House Democratic Caucus members with several who pushed the delay.

“That was a good move for us to delay the vote and give the caucus time to reevaluate the election,” Ryan said. “My main goal is to have a conversation as to what happened with the election and what we can do to grow as a party. A lot of members made the case to extend it.”

Ryan began receiving calls late last week from fellow House Democrats urging him to challenge Pelosi for leader. He then began making calls to fellow Democrats to gauge his support.

"I have spent countless hours meeting and talking to Members of our Caucus, and the consensus is clear. What we are doing right now is not working," Ryan wrote in today's letter.

"Vote for me and I will dedicate all of my energy to lead us back into the majority," He added. "Our constituents deserve nothing less."