Democratic Senate Nominee Refuses to Say He’d Support Biden in 2024: ‘I’m Working on My Own Election’
Ohio’s Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate this year declined to say he’d support President Joe Biden for reelection.
Appearing on Wednesday’s edition of America Reports on Fox News, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) did not commit to supporting the leader of his party. Biden is currently foundering in the polls, even among Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters, 75% of whom want a different nominee in 2024 according to a CNN poll.
Anchor Sandra Smith cited a separate poll showing poor numbers for Biden in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary. That survey showed Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg tied with Biden in a Granite State primary poll.
“In fact, it suggested that Biden and Buttigieg are now tied in a hypothetical 2024 presidential primary matchup,” Smith noted. “Do you support the president in his reelection bid?”
Ryan wasn’t interested in answering.
“I’m working on my own election and that’s all I’m focused on right now,” he replied. “We’ve got a little under four months here in Ohio and we’re running a great campaign. We’re up in the polls, and working really hard. So I’m just going to focus on that and then we can chat about that after I win and get in the United States Senate. I’ll be happy to comment.”
Smith pointed out that Ryan did not appear at an event held by Biden in Ohio earlier this month.
“It was a speech on the economy I believe, if my memory serves me and you didn’t show. That was a message you were sending, right?”
Ryan said he had obligations elsewhere in the state.
“I had commitments in southern Ohio and I’m not gonna back out on normal Ohioans, average Ohioans,” he said. “I’m not going that stuff. These are great people and I’m gonna keep my meetings. But we gotta get focused on the economy and that’s what we’re doing in rural areas as well. And that’s where I’ve been campaigning. So I’m not going to cancel anything for anybody.”
In May, Ryan declined to state whether he wants the president to campaign for him in his race against Republican J.D. Vance.
Watch above via Fox News.
