In Tim Ryan’s Ohio Senate Race, the D Is Often Silent
The first time I met Tim Ryan in person was in early 2008, when I was preparing to run for a seat in the House of Representatives. I was a Democratic candidate for that post in a district where one out of every seven residents supported Barack Obama, the president-elect of the United States, who had just been elected president on a platform to expand “social programs” while cutting the defense budget. In a Democratic district of that type, Republicans were not welcome and I had almost no hope for success.
I had met some of Ryan’s family during the campaign. His sister, Kelly, was a good friend and I have long admired her strength and her passion for justice. His brother, Michael, had been running for Governor of Ohio in 2006 and had been defeated by a Republican, John Kasich. That was an early indication of Ryan’s talent for the political world.
We took the stage together at that party event in 2007. There was a lot to discuss and I was very grateful to his family for welcoming me to their home and family stage. In 2010, I started working for his campaign, and I have no doubt I would not have been successful without their dedication to making Ryan’s campaign a strong one.
Ryan was one of the first to endorse Barack Obama for president in 2008, in fact, he was the first to announce his candidacy, just a few months before the election. He raised a lot of money in his first election effort, and his campaign gave him the opportunity to make a name for himself in that political world and earn the attention of reporters.
In 2012, like many Americans throughout history, Ryan became interested in politics, when he became one of the first to sign up to serve in the military in the military’s “diversity” program, because he felt his presence would help combat the perception of the military as a place where only young men were accepted. He enlisted as a private in the U.S. Navy
