Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio is expected to announce a presidential campaign this week, several sources who have been informed of the Democrat’s plans told BuzzFeed News.
Ryan is scheduled to appear Thursday on The View, a popular talk show destination for national politicians. He is also planning a Saturday rally in Youngstown. Leaders from local organized labor — long a staple of his base — have been invited to attend.
Bill Padisak, president of the Mahoning-Trumbull AFL-CIO, which covers the Youngstown area, said he has been asked to help turn out the crowd.
“I believe he is going to announce his candidacy for the presidency,” Padisak said.
A spokesperson for Ryan did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Ryan is best known nationally for unsuccessfully challenging Nancy Pelosi as House Democratic leader in 2016, arguing that the party needed fresh leadership after losing in much of the Midwest that November. He backed Pelosi for speaker this year, after briefly considering another run against her.
Ryan, who has been in Congress since 2003, has considered running for higher office before, but backed down. He’s been flirting with a presidential run since soon after 2016, with stops in early voting primary states going back to 2017. He took a quick trip to New Hampshire at the end of February and was in Iowa this past weekend.
“I’m concerned about the country falling behind, not being able to compete, and large swaths of the country — two-thirds, probably — not plugged into any of the growth,” he told BuzzFeed News while planning those trips in February. “I don’t know how much longer we can fall behind before we can’t catch up.”