Ohio Politician Is Joining Presidential Race

AKRON — Rep. Tim Ryan is joining a crowded field of Democratic contenders for the party's 2020 presidential nomination.

Before making a televised appearance this week, Ryan's website TimRyanforAmerica went live. On the website, he said he's running for president because he's seen the American Dream "slip through the fingers of many Americans."

"When our local GM factory was shutdown last Thanksgiving, I got a call from my daughter who was consoling her friend whose father was an auto worker and was just laid off. My daughter said to me, with tears in her voice, “You have to do something.” That’s why I am running for President. It’s time to do something," Ryan said on his website.

Ryan will be a guest on Thursday's edition of "The View," where he will likely announce his campaign, according to Fox News. The Democrat also has a rally scheduled for Saturday in Youngstown, Buzzfeed News reported.

Through a variety of maneuvers, Ryan has steadily raised his profile among Democrats in the Midwest. He first made a national splash by announcing in 2016 that he planned to challenge Nancy Pelosi for leadership of House Democrats. Ryan lost that bid, but he garnered ink and TV time in the process. He positioned himself as a needed change for Democrats at the time.

In the intervening years, Ryan has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump and has championed the concerns of two of Ohio's blue-collar cities: Akron and Youngstown. He was one of three Buckeye State politicians that met with GM's Mary Barra after the Lordstown closing was announced. (The other Democrat in that meeting, Senator Sherrod Brown, also mulled a presidential campaign.)

Ryan has also been using the president's favorite communication tool, Twitter, to lambaste Trump policies and decisions. "President Trump is manufacturing one crisis after the next without any regard of how it's impacting our country. The lack of real leadership at the White House is jeopardizing our economy and relationships around the world," he said on Wednesday morning.

Then there was the Comeback Cities tour. Ryan gathered a group of venture capitalists and Silicon Valley investors and showed them around Midwest cities, including: Youngstown, Akron, Detroit, Flint, MI and South Bend, IN.

The pursuit of higher office has long been a goal of Ryan, who has been linked to several major Ohio positions including governor and senator. He has also visited key primary states, like New Hampshire, in the past.

With an increasingly crowded field of contenders for the Democratic nomination for 2020, Ryan will have to avoid becoming just another name in the race.

However, Ryan's swing through Midwest cities, his growing profile within the Democratic Party, and the surprise success of South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg may have all spurred Ryan's impending announcement.

Ryan is expected to invited local labor unions to attend his Saturday rally. Buzzfeed News said the president of the Mahoning-Trumbull AFL-CIO has been asked to help "turn out the crowd."