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Congressman Tim Ryan Makes It Official – He’s Running For The Senate

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — After months of speculation, Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan (D-Niles) has made it official – he’s running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated next year by Republican U.S. Senator Rob Portman.

Ryan has been in Congress since 2003, though his district has been moving to the right in recent elections.

Ryan said he’d be a voice in the Senate for Ohio’s workers.

“We’re talking to workers who have been left behind, who show up for work and can’t get ahead and that’s who we are talking to.”

In making his announcement, Ryan released a campaign ad that said, “The success of America isn’t housed in the halls of Congress. It likes in the calloused hands and the unrelenting grit of America’s workers. Those who dug the deepest sent our nation soaring.”

Ryan went viral on social media earlier this year when he made an impassioned speech about the labor bill known as the PRO Act.

Ryan is the first Democrat to enter the race. Four Republicans are running: Former state Treasurer Josh Mandel, former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Jane Timken and Cleveland area businessmen Bernie Moreno and Mike Gibbons.

Current U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-Cincinnati) announced earlier this year that he’d retire at the end of his term. He cited the ongoing political gridlock as a reason it makes it harder and harder to get things done.