Tim Ryan calls for ‘next generation’ of leaders ahead of Biden’s Ohio visit

Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, the Democratic nominee for Senate in the state, suggested that it may be time for new leadership on both sides of the aisle ahead of President Biden’s visit to the Buckeye State on Friday.

“My hunch is that we need new leadership across the board,” Ryan told Ohio network WFMJ on Thursday, when asked whether Biden should seek a second term. “Democrats, Republicans — I think it’s time for a generational move.”

Ryan clarified his comments when asked about them on Friday, noting that Biden has said “from the very beginning he was going to be a bridge to the next generation.”

Asked once more if Biden should run again, Ryan said, “That’s up to him.”

Biden visited Ohio on Friday for the groundbreaking of a new Intel semiconductor manufacturing site. Ryan joined the president at the event, touting the bipartisan legislation meant to boost domestic semiconductor production that was passed in July.

With a little more than two months to November’s election, Ryan faces a tight race against his Republican opponent, J.D. Vance, who was leading him by three points in an Emerson College poll last month. Ryan holds a narrow lead in FiveThirtyEight’s polling average for the race, however, with 45.5 percent support compared to Vance’s 43.6 percent, and has significantly outraised Vance.

Ryan, who mounted an unsuccessful bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, endorsed Biden in the primary late in 2019 after dropping out of the race.

— Updated at 5:04 p.m.