What he Used to Do: Ohio State Senator (January 2001 to December 2002), U.S. Representative for Ohio's 17th District (January 2003- January 2013), which has since become the 13th District.
Hometown: Niles, Ohio
Family Tree: Born to Rochelle Maria (Rizzi) and Allen Leroy Ryan. He is of Irish and Italian ancestry.
He served on the staff of controversial U.S. Representative Jim Traficant of Ohio in the mid-1990s. Traficant, who died in 2014, was convicted of bribery and racketeering charges.
There’s been a lot of speculation about Ryan running for governor of Ohio in 2018.
Ryan voted for the Stupak Amendment restricting federal funding for abortions, but in January 2015, he announced that having "gained a deeper understanding of the complexities and emotions that accompany the difficult decisions [about whether to end a pregnancy]" over his time in public office he had reversed his position on abortion and now identified as pro-choice.
Key Career Moments:
In 2010, Ryan introduced the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, which sought punitive trade tariffs on countries, notably China, that were engaging in currency manipulation. It passed the House overwhelmingly but never made it to the floor of the Senate.
What He Has Said About Clinton:
Ryan spoke ahead of Clinton in a March campaign event in Ohio and after the event spoke to a CBS affiliate: “She hit issues I think folks in the valley care about a lot, bringing manufacturing back and using renewable energy.”
And Ryan posted a short clip of his speech introducing Clinton on his Facebook page. “This campaign and this candidate is about helping ordinary people like us do extraordinary things ... and now it’s our turn in Ohio to send her, we’re going to send her to the White House.”
