Tim Ryan ‘seriously considering’ 2020 bid

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), a high-profile House moderate, said Wednesday evening he is “seriously considering” a presidential run in 2020.

“I am seriously considering it,” @RepTimRyan says when asked about making a 2020 presidential run.

“I don’t feel any pressure to make any particular announcement anytime soon,” he goes on to tell @ErinBurnett.https://t.co/UPpRlDdJB0 pic.twitter.com/DfRvdaopJA

— OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) February 14, 2019

“I don’t feel any pressure for any timeline for this point, but I am seriously considering it,” he told CNN host Erin Burnett. 

{mosads}“The country is divided, we can’t get anything done because of these huge divisions that we have and people in communities like the one I represent, Erin, are suffering because of this division. You can’t win the future divided, a divided country is a weak country, and I’m concerned about that. I don’t feel any pressure to make any particular announcement anytime soon, but it is something I’m really worried about.” 

Ryan rose to prominence after challenging then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for her post in 2016. He garnered about a third of the Democratic conference’s support in the unsuccessful effort, underlining significant divisions within the caucus. 

Since then, he has opposed President Trump and touted moderate policies he would like to see pushed through Congress.

He first raised eyebrows among 2020 prognosticators after making trips to Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, three states that will hold crucial primary races in the Democratic nomination contest. 

Democratic Sens. Kamala Harris (Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Cory Booker (N.J.) and Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) have already announced 2020 bids, and heavyweights such as former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) waiting in the wings.

Should Ryan throw his hat into the ring, he would likely run in the same lane as Klobuchar, Biden and possibly Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), seeking to appeal to both their moderate base and blue-collar workers with progressive economic policies on trade and labor.