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Tim Ryan’s congressional fund has only $67,192 in it
Amount raised for presidential bid not released
YOUNGSTOWN
U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, who is running for president and re-election to the House next year, has only $67,192 in his congressional campaign fund.
What he’s raised for his presidential bid is not being disclosed by that campaign and won’t be for a few more months.
Ryan, of Howland, D-13th, also reported raising $73,939 and spending $124,941 for his House campaign during the first three months of the year, according to his latest filing with the Federal Election Commission.
In comparison to the $67,192 in Ryan’s congressional fund as of March 31, U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson of Marietta, R-6th, had $963,978 in cash. In the first quarter of this year, Johnson raised $183,905 and spent $65,995.
Ryan announced April 4 that he was running for president. He filed a statement of candidacy April 11 with the FEC.
Several of the top Democratic presidential candidates have said how much they raised in the first day and the first week after they officially declared.
Julia Krieger, Ryan’s presidential campaign spokeswoman, said the amount of money raised by his presidential committee wouldn’t be released until July 15, the deadline to report the second quarter fundraising amounts.
When asked why the campaign wouldn’t provide how much Ryan’s presidential effort has raised so far, Krieger said: “The reports are due at the end of the quarter, and that’s when we’ll be releasing them.”
To qualify for the first Democratic debate in Miami on June 26 and 27 – with the lineups of 10 for each day chosen at random – Ryan has to have at least 1 percent support in three qualifying polls, or show he has at least 65,000 unique donors with a minimum of 200 different donors in at least 20 states.
If more than 20 candidates hit one of those two qualifications, the top 20 would be selected by a method that rewards candidates for meeting both thresholds, followed by highest polling averages and then the most unique donors.
In a follow-up interview, Krieger said: “We will let folks know when we reach the 65,000 number.”
Among Democratic presidential candidates, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont leads the money race with $18 million, followed by U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris of California with $12 million, former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke of Texas with $9.4 million and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg with $7 million.
Ryan, who was in Iowa last week, is heading back there – the first state with a presidential caucus – Thursday and will spend a few days there, Krieger said.
After Sanders’ Monday appearance on Fox News at a town hall, Krieger said Ryan’s campaign reached out to the channel requesting a similar event for him.
She also confirmed that ex-U.S. Rep. Zack Space is Ryan’s presidential campaign treasurer. The Dover Democrat lost last year’s state auditor’s race by about 3 percent.
The Vindicator asked U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, who considered a presidential bid before opting not to run and was in Youngstown on Tuesday, about Ryan. Brown said Democratic candidates should be talking about “the dignity of work,” including better wages and benefits as well as safe workplaces.
“That’s what Tim has done in his career,” Brown said. “He’s worked on those issues, talking to workers and trying to deliver for workers. And more power to him that way.” Asked about Ryan’s chances of winning, Brown said: “When you have 20 candidates, nobody’s chances are very high. You just do the math.”