By John Whitesides
(Reuters) - U.S. Representative Tim Ryan, a moderate Ohio Democrat from a blue-collar district who touts his appeal to the working-class voters who fled the party in 2016, said on Thursday he will enter the 2020 White House race.
Ryan, 45, who represents a northeastern Ohio area that has lost manufacturing jobs in recent years and shifted to Republican Donald Trump in 2016's presidential election, made the announcement on a campaign website.
"I know how to get elected in working-class districts," Ryan said in an appearance on "The View," an ABC morning talk show. "Trump has been full of promises and hasn't delivered on anything."
Ryan bolstered his national profile in 2016 when he unsuccessfully tried to unseat Nancy Pelosi as the Democratic leader in the U.S. House of Representatives, arguing it was time for new leadership in the party.
But as a white moderate from a working-class district, he will face questions about whether he fits the times in a party that is becoming more diverse and is increasingly driven by its progressive wing.
He is the 17th candidate for the Democratic nomination to seek the White House in 2020, including black, Hispanic and openly gay candidates as well as a record six women.
(For a graphic, see: https://tmsnrt.rs/2Ff62ZC.)
The vast field matches the 17 hopefuls who sought the Republican nomination Trump won in 2016.
Ryan said on "The View" his record on economic issues would appeal to progressives. He has been critical of free trade deals that he says have cost jobs in his district, and he promised to push for job creation programs that would put a priority on wind and solar energy, electric vehicles and other new technologies.
"I understand that legacy of job loss," he said. "I understand where we need to go. The country is so divided right now that we can't get a plan together."
Despite nine terms in Congress, Ryan lacks the name recognition and support network of some of his better-known rivals. He barely registers in 2020 opinion polls despite recent visits to Iowa and New Hampshire, states that hold early nominating contests.
He also is likely to wind up competing with former Vice President Joe Biden - who is expected to get into the race in the coming weeks - for centrist working-class votes.
Ryan will kick off his campaign with a rally on Saturday in Youngstown, Ohio, followed by a Sunday trip to Iowa, which begins the state-by-state nominating contests in February 2020. Later next week he will travel to New Hampshire, the next contest on the road to the nomination, according to a campaign spokeswoman.
Ryan has said he could unify the two wings of the party and expand its appeal in a campaign against Trump.
"We need to think long-term about how we reassemble a new progressive coalition that pulls in independents and moderate Republicans and independent women and working-class people," Ryan said in an interview with Reuters in October.
Ryan has taken up meditation and wrote a book on the subject. He also has written a book on healthy eating, calling for a shift away from processed food.