Former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton joined the calls for Democratic Representative Tim Ryan to run for the Ohio Senate seat in 2022.
After this week’s announcement by Republican Sen. Rob Portmant that he will not seek re-election as soon as his term ends next year, Democrats have been planning how best to turn the chair to the blue and gain majority leadership in the Senate.
Ryan said he did not decide whether to run, but told MSNBC on Saturday that he is “looking closely” at the idea.
His comment was applauded by Ohio Democratic Women’s Caucus President Kathy DiCristofaro, who said, “Ohio needs leaders like [Tim Ryan] to fight for the workers. I am in everything! ”
Clinton supported Ohio congressmen, adding, “You’re right, Kathy!”
“I am impressed by the supporters who are encouraging me to run for the Senate. I haven’t made a decision yet, but I’m seriously thinking about it,” Ryan said in a tweet on Monday. “Ohio deserves leaders who fight for workers.”
Ryan led a short presidential campaign in 2019, pitting himself against more liberal candidates like Senator Bernie Sanders, D-Vt. And Senator Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., For presenting herself as a moderate.
But he failed to gain much strength against the big political names and ended his campaign in October 2019.
Although he won reelection to Ohio’s 13th Congressional District in November, it may not be enough to win a state election that voted twice for President Trump.
Despite several key states having changed positions in the last presidential election and electing President Biden, Ohio has retained its red belt – which Trump lost in 2016 after Buckeye state voted for President Obama during his two presidential elections.
The Republican senator who is stepping down noted the political polarization in the United States, which can be a challenging obstacle for a politician trying to run as a moderate Democrat.
“We live in an increasingly polarized country, where members of both parties are being pushed further and further to the right and further to the left, and that means very few people who are actively looking for common ground,” said Portman. “This is not a new phenomenon, of course, but a problem that has worsened in recent decades.”
Portman has been an Ohio senator since 2010 and was on the House of Representatives for another 12 years before that.
Several GOP officers also approached Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to fill Portman’s seat, as several senior GOP members are expected to leave the Senate in 2022, including Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Penn.
But a spokesman for Jordan told Fox News on Thursday that congressmen have no intention of leaving his post.
“Congressman Jordan is honored by the overwhelming encouragement he received to run for the United States Senate. However, he is solely focused on representing the great people of the Fourth District of Ohio and will not run for Sen. Rob Portman, who will retire, “said the spokesman.
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“Mr. Jordan believes that, at the moment, he is better suited to represent the Ohioans in the House of Representatives, where as the leading Republican on the Judiciary Committee, he can advance an America First agenda, promote conservative values and hold the great government, “they added.
Brooke Singman contributed to this report.