Tim Ryan is just the kind of politician to win in Ohio. He’s a local boy. He grew up in a working-class family of Italian and Irish descent. His grandfather was a steelworker for 40 years. He was a quarterback in high school.
But he’s also a Democrat.
That’s a significant burden in a state Donald Trump won handily in the previous two presidential elections. To stand a chance here at flipping a U.S. Senate seat currently held by a retiring Republican, the affable 49-year-old congressman is distancing himself from his party ahead of the November election, including by actively dodging appearances with President Joe Biden.
