A Wisconsin ironworker and supporter of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Randy Bryce, has announced his run for Congress to unseat House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) in a campaign ad that quickly drew attention on Twitter.
The video, titled “Randy Bryce for Congress Campaign Announcement,” focuses on Ryan’s support for repealing and replacing ObamaCare and Bryce’s mother’s struggle with a chronic illness.
The ad opens with President Trump and Ryan celebrating the House’s passage of the American Health Care Act, with Ryan saying “everybody doesn’t get what they want.”
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The ad then features an interview with Bryce’s mother, who talks about the high cost of her life-saving drugs, and Bryce’s admittance that many Americans couldn’t afford to pay those costs.
“I’m on 20 drugs,” Bryce’s mother says in the ad. “And, if I don’t take the one that costs them thousands of dollars, I don’t know what would happen.”
Bryce’s messages about lowering drug costs resonated with Twitter users, including comedian Chelsea Handler, who endorsed Bryce and retweeted the ad.
Bryce ends the ad by inviting Ryan to “trade places” with him.
“I think it’s time,” Bryce says. “Let’s trade places, Paul Ryan — you can come work the iron, and I’ll go to D.C. We can do so much better together, as a community.”
Ousting the House Speaker would be a significant challenge for Bryce. Ryan is popular in his district, winning it with 65 percent of the vote in 2016.
In addition, President Trump won the district over Hillary Clinton by 10 points. To face Ryan, Bryce will first have to defeat David Yankovich, another Sanders supporter, in the Democratic primary.