Tim Ryan on Clinton’s Veep List, WSJ Reports

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, D-13 Ohio, is on the short list of running mates that presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton is considering, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Ryan, D-13 Ohio, is on a list that includes U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Sherrod Brown of Ohio

Clinton is not vetting Sanders, according to sources The Wall Street Journal cites. Along with Ryan and Brown, Clinton is looking Labor Secretary Tom Perez, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia and Cory Booker of New Jersey, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and U.S. Rep. Xavier Bercetti of California.

“Regardless of who is chosen as vice president, I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure Hillary Clinton is the next president of the United States,” Ryan said in a statement released by his office. “As recent events have shown, we are living in trying times and we need a serious leader who has the experience and temperament necessary to tackle our immensely complex global and domestic issues.”

Ryan, the first member of Congress to endorse Clinton’s candidacy, has campaigned extensively on her behalf and was at Clinton’s side when she campaigned here March 12 at stopped for a beer at O’Donold’s Irish Pub & Grill downtown. He has long been seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party. Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland considered him as a running mate and the congressman has been mentioned often as a candidate for governor and the U.S. Senate.

Ryan was first elected to Congress in 2002. Prior to that, he served in the Ohio Senate.

Ryan would make “an excellent choice” for Clinton, said David Betras, chairman of the Mahoning County Democratic Party. He cited the congressman’s strength with labor, expertise on trade issues and appeal to blue-collar workers, much like Vice President Joe Biden.

“Plus he’s young, intelligent and an extremely attractive candidate,” he continued. “Oh, and he’s from Ohio, the swing state of swing states.”

Mark Munroe, chairman of the Mahoning County Republican Party, is more skeptical about a Ryan pick.

“It’s not going to happen. The gravitas is just not there,” he said. “Hillary is such a weak and damaged candidate that she needs a very strong second and I don’t think the congressman is ready.”

A story on Vox.com lists the pros and cons of the nine candidates the Wall Street Journal reports are on Clinton’s short list. Ryan is described as an extremely attractive, charismatic Rust Belt economic populist. His shortcomings, according to Vox, include his pro-life stance on abortion rights, which he reversed last year, and that he “was a protege of, and staffer for” Jim Traficant.

The Wall Street Journal said Clinton’s “top priority” is finding someone prepared to step in as president.” She also is seeking a “working partner” who can help advance her agenda. Reportedly, her advisers are “less concerned” with demographic and geographic factors.

Regardless, Ohio is expected to be a critical state to electing the next president, as it has long been. It is among the states the presumptive Republican nominee, businessman Donald Trump, needs to win, so the conventional wisdom holds, on what many analysts say is a narrow path for the GOP to the White House.

Brown, in his second term as a U.S. senator, has repeatedly said he is not interested in being Clinton’s running mate. He repeated that stance in an email last night in responding to a request for comment.

“I do not want to be vice president,” Brown said. “I love working for the people of Ohio, and I have a lot more work to do as their senator.”

Should a Clinton-Brown ticket win, the Democrats would all but cede Brown’s seat to the Republicans because Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, would name his successor.

Pictured: Ryan toasts Hillary Clinton when the presidential candidate stopped at O’Donold’s March 12.

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