Dem challenger fundraises off Ryan retirement announcement

Randy Bryce, one of the Democrats running for Speaker Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) House seat, is seizing on the Wisconsin Republican’s retirement in his latest fundraising plea.

“We repealed Paul Ryan — now it’s time to replace him with Randy Bryce,” a fundraising message posted by Bryce’s campaign reads. 

“The most powerful Republican in Congress is retiring because he’s too scared of Randy Bryce and the hundreds of thousands of working people who have built this campaign,” it continues. 

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Bryce, a U.S. Army veteran and ironworker, is vying for the Democratic nomination in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District, which has been represented by Ryan for nearly two decades. 

But Ryan’s surprise announcement on Wednesday that he will not seek reelection in November appeared to open up a possible path to victory for a Democrat in the southeastern Wisconsin district.

Another Democrat, schoolteacher Cathy Myers, is also vying for the House seat.

Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a project of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, reclassified the status of Ryan’s district on Wednesday from “Likely Republican” to a toss-up race.