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Rep. Ryan’s decision to forgo race for Ohio governor not surprising; Dems lose well-known candidate
On the side
Regarding President Donald Trump’s recent address to Congress, U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson of Marietta, R-6th, said, “The most unconventional president in modern times gave the most uplifting and uniting speech that’s been heard in the House chamber in at least a decade. Importantly, he didn’t divide us by group. The president spoke to us as one people, as Americans.”
Johnson, whose district includes Columbiana County and southern Mahoning County, said: “I look forward to continuing to work with President Trump and his team, and anyone from either party, willing to put forward solutions that move America forward.”
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Howland, D-13th, said Tuesday’s speech shows “that President Trump has a lot of work to do to turn his soaring rhetoric into real policy. While I was encouraged to hear him emphasize policies such as a massive infrastructure bill and Buy American provisions, he must now prove he is willing to work in a bipartisan manner to make them happen.”
Ryan’s district includes most of Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
Despite his interest in running for governor, most political observers never expected U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan to run for the position.
Ryan of Howland, D-13th, made an official announcement Tuesday that he wouldn’t seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 2018.
It was no surprise, but it’s still a blow to Ohio Democrats who need a well-known candidate at the top of the ticket next year to have any chance of capturing statewide executive-branch seats.
Going back 20 years, Democrats have won executive-branch seats in only the 2006 election.
The 2018 election is the best opportunity for Democrats to pick up seats for a few reasons.
It’s the first election since 2006 without Republican incumbents running for the positions they currently hold.
On the flip side, the top three Republican candidates for governor are Attorney General Mike DeWine, Secretary of State Jon Husted and Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor. All already have more money, better name recognition, and have run and won statewide compared to potential Democratic nominees. But a bitter primary could leave the GOP primary winner damaged.
It will also be a midterm presidential election, which are traditionally bad for the party in power – not always, but usually.
Also, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, the most prominent Democrat in the state, will be on the ballot seeking his third six-year term to the Senate. Democrats on the statewide ticket will have the benefit of campaigning with Brown, who will likely be a top target for Republicans as he was when he won his second term in 2012.
Back to Ryan’s decision. He made it clear he wasn’t interested a number of times during and after his failed November 2016 effort to defeat Nancy Pelosi for House minority leader.
After losing to Pelosi, Ryan told me he was “in a really good place here in Congress.”
That place became even better for Ryan when he was promoted to ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee’s Legislative Branch Subcommittee and moved up in seniority on the committee’s Defense Subcommittee.
If Democrats are able to regain control of the House, Ryan would become a powerful figure. And despite his loss to Pelosi, he’s raised his national profile, appearing on numerous cable news programs.
When the National Republican Congressional Committee listed Ryan’s district as one it would target in 2018 – a Republican hasn’t been competitive in the district in more than 25 years – he immediately responded with requests for money from supporters.
Money raised for federal races cannot be transferred to state races. If he was running for governor, Ryan wouldn’t have sought the money for his federal account.
On Tuesday, Ryan said: “I’m confident Ohio Democrats will stick together and upend the disastrous Republican one-party rule in Ohio that has cost jobs, allowed our communities to be ravaged by opioids, and failed to educate our children. Democrats are fortunate to have a wealth of talent in Ohio, and I look forward to helping Sen. Sherrod Brown and all Democratic nominees win their elections in 2018.”
With Ryan gone, the top potential Democratic candidate is Richard Cordray, director of the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and a former attorney general and treasurer.
But Cordray finds himself in a holding pattern.
Congressional Republicans want President Donald Trump to fire Cordray, whose term expires in July.
This one is curious as Republicans should just leave Cordray alone. The longer he sits on the sidelines, the less time he’ll have to mount a gubernatorial bid and leave Democrats in a state of uncertainty regarding his candidacy.
The only announced Democratic candidate for governor is Ohio Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni of Boardman, who’s been planning a run since the summer.
Schiavoni is traveling the state trying to increase his name recognition and to raise money.
In a Wednesday statement, Schiavoni said, “I am not a career politician, and I’m not going to be the anointed candidate. But I am a fighter, the fighter that Ohio needs. I will work harder than anyone, visit every part of the state and meet with every Ohioan I can until I win.”
After Ryan’s announcement, former U.S. Rep. Betty Sutton, who used to run the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. during the Barack Obama administration, said, “I am giving serious thought to a run for governor and will have an announcement next week.”
All signs point to her jumping into the race. After all, why make such an announcement if your decision is not to run for governor?
There will be a number of other Democrats expected to announce their candidacy for governor in the next couple of months.
The big question for all of them is do they have what it takes to win against a better known and better-funded GOP opponent and help the rest of the Democratic statewide ticket in Republican-dominated Ohio?