Rep. Tim Ryan announced in a video posted online that he is “withdrawing from the presidential campaign” after being in the race since April 2019.
“While it didn’t work out quite the way we planned, this voice will not be stifled,” Ryan said in a statement. “I will continue to advocate and fight for the working people of this country — white, black, brown, men, women.”
Ryan, a moderate Democrat from Ohio who presented himself as an alternative to former Vice President Joe Biden, ran a campaign based on the economic issues of the Midwest and pledged to take the Rust Belt back from President Trump.
On the trail, he often talked about giving “a voice to the forgotten people of our country.”
The Ohio congressman jumped into the presidential race on April 4 while on “The View” but failed to gain traction among voters and had few memorable moments in the first two debates of the 2020 primary cycle.
Ryan was polling at less than 1% in recent national polls and struggled to raise money to support his campaign. In the most recent quarter, Rep. Ryan only raised $425,000 and ended the quarter with less than $160,000 cash on hand.
The combination of the low fundraising and polling kept Ryan off the debate stages over the last several months, having failed to qualify for the third and fourth debates.
Ryan said he was “proud of this campaign” and thanked his wife and children “for picking up the slack while I’ve been on the campaign trail.”
Ryan will seek re-election for his congressional seat instead.
