WASHINGTON, D.C. – For the first time in over two decades, Tim Ryan does not hold elected office right now.
The former Ohio congressman and Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate is back home in the Mahoning Valley, reflecting on his loss to now-Sen. JD Vance and figuring out life after politics.
“It was kind of a weird adjustment, but it’s been like really nice. I’m like a dad and a husband, and I’m not always on the go. And that’s really nice,” Ryan told Spectrum News in an interview last week during a quick trip to D.C.
Ryan said he’s happy to be home with family in northeast Ohio. He’s now able to help coach his son Brady’s basketball team and is taking a breath after a whirlwind 2022.
Ryan, 49, said he’s not planning to run for office again anytime soon.
“I’m not ever going to rule anything out,” he said. “And I’ve told my wife, I’m never ruling out – I’m never saying I’m never going to run for anything again. But I like what I’m doing, I like being home, I like learning a lot about the private sector.”
Ryan represented Ohio’s Mahoning Valley in the U.S. House for 20 years before winning his party’s nomination for the key Senate race last year.
The contest against Vance got national attention and tens of millions of dollars in donations, but Ryan ultimately lost by more than six points.
“I think the Democratic brand in Ohio is really tough. And it’s tough to get turnout in an off year with Democrats as well. And I think that just all kind of added up,” Ryan said. “Certainly, I could’ve done better too, but we left it all on the field. And really, at the end of the day, that’s all you can ask.”
Ryan ran as a moderate Democrat who focused squarely on economic issues. It was an effort to win back white working class Ohioans, like many of his constituents, who shifted over the last decade from being staunch Democrats to supporters of Donald Trump.
“The move away from the economic argument over to the social issues that are very divisive in today’s society, that’s how you lost the Mahoning Valley. And that’s how you lost Michigan and Pennsylvania and Ohio and Wisconsin when Trump won in ‘16,” Ryan said.
Still, Ryan doesn’t think his loss is a warning sign for Sen. Sherrod Brown, a fellow Democrat who’s running for a fourth term in 2024.
“We got a lot of moderates and independent-minded folks and Republicans to vote for us. I think Sherrod will get a lot of those people,” Ryan said. “In addition to that, he’ll have a presidential-year turnout, and I think he’s going to win. He’s a trusted brand. He’s a trusted guy in Ohio.”
Since leaving Congress in January, Ryan has joined a think tank and a nonprofit to work on climate and energy issues, with a focus on advocating for natural gas as a way to step away from coal.
He said he feels the federal government needs to be reformed and modernized to function better.
Ryan also said he stands by wanting President Joe Biden not to run for a second term because of his age.
“It looks like he’s preparing to run again. Do you think that will hurt the Democratic Party?” Spectrum News asked Ryan.
“You can’t predict it. I mean, it depends. I hope that he wouldn’t. I really think, on both parties, we need a new generation of leaders,” Ryan said.
Ryan, who briefly ran for president in 2019 before endorsing Biden, said he thinks Biden can hold his own against Trump, but might struggle if a younger Republican is the GOP’s nominee.
His advice for Democrats running at all levels? Don’t get distracted by social issues; stick to the economy.
“The squeeze. And when you get off of the squeeze, you’re going to lose as a Democrat,” Ryan said.