Democratic Ohio Senate candidate Tim Ryan says he does not want national figures, including President Joe Biden, to publicly campaign with him as the election season enters the final stretch.
Ohio is a crucial Senate race for both parties. Republicans need to hold onto the seat, otherwise their chances of flipping control of the chamber become more complicated.
CBS News’ Robert Costa asked the Senate hopeful on Tuesday, “Do you want President Biden to come to Ohio and publicly campaign with you in this final lap?”
“No, no, I won’t be asking the president to come in,” Ryan responded. “Or very, very few, if any, national people to come in and actually campaign with us. Because I want to be the main face, the main messenger of this campaign.”
Finally, he said, “Trump coming in for J.D. Vance actually was an absolute net negative for him. It’s like run your own race and end on your own two feet. That’s what Ohioans want, and that’s what I’m gonna do.”
Watch the video below:
CBS: "Do you want President Biden to come to Ohio and publicly campaign with you?"
— Tom Elliott (@tomselliott) October 12, 2022
Rep. @TimRyan: "No, no, I won’t be asking the president to come in" pic.twitter.com/UfG2RcV3JY
Ryan’s comments come after Axios reported Biden has traveled less for domestic political reasons than either of his two immediate predecessors at this point in their presidencies.
In the first three-quarters of 2018, then-President Donald Trump visited 57 cities and held 27 fundraisers.
And as of Sept. 30, Biden has visited 47 cities and held 11 fundraisers. Axios also notes, “Many of Biden’s trips have been to friendly coastal cities, like Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia. He’s also visited swing states including Michigan and Ohio, where he’s been eager to tout his manufacturing message.”
However, some Democrats, including Ryan, have noted there could be downsides to a presidential visit.
Earlier this month, a Civiqs poll found just 34% of Ohioans approve of the president’s job performance.
While Ryan said he wants to be the main messenger of the campaign, it probably does not help that just over a third of the voters in his state approve of Biden.
Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, told Newsweek, “Democratic candidates running will have to spend time on defense or avoiding questions about Biden and less time on their own messages.”
“President Biden’s low approval makes it hard to persuade undecideds to vote for Democrats and makes it difficult to rally Democrats,” he added.
RealClearPolitics’ average of polls finds Republican J.D. Vance holds a 1.4-point lead over Ryan. Meanwhile, FiveThirtyEight’s average of polls shows Ryan holds a 0.3-point lead over Vance.
Ryan is not going to want to be tied to a deeply unpopular president, especially when polls are showing a razor-thin race.
