The size of the Democratic field for 2020 shrank on Thursday as Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio announced that he was giving up his bid for the White House, one of a number of candidates who never were able to break out from the lower tier of a large primary field.
In a video message released by his campaign, Ryan thanked his supporters, and said he had decided to run for re-election to his seat in the U.S. House.
"I wanted to give voice to the forgotten communities that have been left behind," Ryan said, acknowledging with a smile that his race for President 'didn't work out the way we had planned.'
Ryan has argued that the Democratic Party needs to slow down a big shift to the more liberal side, arguing economic issues in the Rust Belt cannot be ignored by his party.
Ryan had missed the last two debates because of a lack of fund raising and little strength in the polls - which led to him having little impact on the overall race.
“I honestly didn’t realize he was still in the race,” tweeted Frank Luntz, a GOP polling expert.
There are several other Democratic candidates in much the same situation as Ryan - who are not qualifying for the upcoming debates, and are far behind in the polls, like Marianne Williamson, Michael Bennet, John Delaney, and others.
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