Rep. Tim Ryan on Thursday announced that he is ending his bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.
He said he’s proud of his campaign for giving a voice to “forgotten” people in the country and that he plans to run for re-election to his House seat next year.
“While it didn’t work out quite the way we planned, this voice will not be stifled,” Mr. Ryan, Ohio Democrat, said in a videotaped statement. “I will continue to advocate and fight for the working people of this country.”
Mr. Ryan qualified for the first two Democratic debates, but he wasn’t registering in recent polls.
He raised about $426,000 in the most recent fundraising quarter and started October with slightly more than $158,000 on hand - well back of the top-tier contenders.
He had pitched himself as a candidate in the more moderate lane among the 2020 Democratic field, warning that the expansive health care vision of candidates like Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernard Sanders would be too big of a shock to the system.
But that space has also been occupied by former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, as well as Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana and Sen. Amy Klobuchar, who have seen an uptick in support in recent polls.
Other Democratic candidates who have dropped out of the race include Rep. Eric Swalwell, former Sen. Mike Gravel, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Rep. Seth Moulton, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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