Ryan still deciding on gubernatorial bid

Democrat Tim Ryan, who represented the Mahoning Valley in Congress for 20 years, needs a few more days to decide whether he'll run for governor but "is excited about what he could do" in the job.Dennis Willard, Ryan's spokesman, said Tuesday: "Tim Ryan is considering the enormity of how this election will impact our great state. He is going to take a few additional days to make his decision. Tim believes he is the strongest candidate to beat Vivek (Ramaswamy). He is excited about what he could do as governor to bring together all Ohioans and will have a decision soon."Willard said Aug. 19 that Ryan would decide by Tuesday about his candidacy. But Ryan told a Columbus television station Sept. 19 that he would likely need more time.The Republican Party, including President Donald Trump, has coalesced around Ramaswamy, who is the clear GOP frontrunner for governor.Dr. Amy Acton, a Youngstown native who rose to prominence during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic as the state's health director, declared in January as a Democrat for governor. She is the party's only announced candidate for the office.Acton is collecting a number of endorsements from current and former officeholders.Ryan was first elected to a seat in the U.S. House in the 2002 election and served until the end of 2022. With his margins of victory lessening during his last two House elections and state Republican leaders planning to draw him into a Republican district, Ryan chose in 2022 to run for the U.S. Senate. Ryan lost to Republican J.D. Vance by 6.1% in Ohio's closest statewide election that year.Since Ryan left public office, he and his family moved from Howland to Plain City in Union County. He serves as a consultant and advocate for several organizations, including those representing natural gas and cryptocurrency.Ryan expressed interest in running for governor back in December and later said he would have a decision sometime in the summer.But Ryan's interest greatly decreased as Sherrod Brown, a former three-term U.S. senator defeated last year, mulled bids for either governor or the U.S. Senate and the belief was he was leaning toward governor.With Brown instead running next year for the Senate, Ryan's interest in the governor position was "renewed and heightened," Willard said Aug. 13.