Tag: OH-Lt. Gov

From Roll Call:

Rep. Tim Ryan (D) will run for re-election to his House seat next year instead of running for lieutenant governor in Ohio, reversing what had been widespread speculation that he was headed for the exits.

A Ryan aide confirmed a local report Monday that the four-term Democrat would not return to the Buckeye State to be Gov. Ted Strickland’s (D) running mate on the statewide ticket in 2010.

“It’s definite,” Ryan told a local newspaper. “I just don’t see a scenario in the near future where I’ll be leaving” Congress.

This seems like a pretty unexpected about-face. Earlier reports suggested that Ryan’s candidacy was pretty much a done deal. In the end, we keep a pretty good Rep. in the House, and Governor Ted has to keep searching for a new running mate to replace Lee Fisher.

From Roll Call:

Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) will announce a bid for lieutenant governor later this week, according to the Washington Post.

Ryan would run alongside Gov. Ted Strickland (D) to succeed Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher (D), who is running for Senate in 2010. Ryan, a four-term Democrat, also considered running to replace retiring Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio), but he decided against it and has backed Fisher’s bid.

While Ryan’s name has been batted around as one of Strickland’s top choices for his running mate, this still strikes me as a surprising move. If Ryan had any ambitions for House leadership, I guess he has decided to shelve them and set himself up as the likely nominee to replace Strickland once he faces mandatory retirement in 2014 (assuming Strickland is successful in his re-election campaign).

Unfortunately for us, this could very well mean that Capri Cafaro will be first in line to replace Ryan in the House. Yuck.

Calling all Swingnuts: Roll Call references a Washington Post article in their coverage of this news, but we can’t seem to track it down. If anyone spots the original article online, please post a link in the comments. Thanks! (UPDATE: Found it.)