Election analyst Kyle Kondik predicted on Friday that Democratic 2020 presidential campaigns will be particularly challenging for members of the House, such as Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio.).
“We’ve got a number of House members. House members very rarely do anything, really, in presidential races, but it just goes to show how wide open this field really is,” Kondik, managing editor of the political website Sabato’s Crystal Ball, told Hill.TV’s Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton on “Rising.”
Ryan, who once challenged Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for her leadership role, launched his 2020 bid on Thursday.
The congressman has focused on manufacturing during his time in the House and could represent a potential threat to President Trump’s strong Midwest support.
However, Kondik said, name recognition could prove to be a hurdle for Ryan.
“I guess I really don’t see it,” Kondik said. “I just mentioned that House members, they’re usually not even that well-known in their own state, let alone nationally.”
“Ryan has made a little bit of more news in recent years, but that’s for challenging Nancy Pelosi, and I don’t necessarily know if that’s a popular position anymore in the Democratic Party,” he added.
Ryan joins Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) and former Reps. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) and John Delaney (D-Md.) as candidates with primarily House experience in a crowded 2020 field that also includes a number of governors and senators.
“It’s just going to really hard for him or any of these other House members to get a lot of traction, I guess maybe other than Beto O’Rourke, who’s now a former House member but has become a pretty prominent politician,” Kondik said.
— Julia Manchester
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