Rep. Tim Ryan, who is challenging Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi for her leadership position, said if Democrats continue down their current path, they could lose their status as a national party.
During an appearance in Fox Business Monday, Ryan said Democrats are in “denial” of what happened on election night, adding the message sent by voters needs to resonate with lawmakers if they want to win back the majority.
“They [voters] sent a very strong signal, which is why I got into this race, because I’m trying to convince my colleagues, 200 members of our Democratic caucus, that the American people have asked for us to change things and we can’t keep going down the same road,” he said.
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Ryan said all Americans are looking for economic opportunity and no longer see Democrats as the party that will lead the efforts toward making the nation more prosperous.
“I’m pulling the fire alarm because the House is burning down,” he said. “And we better get our act together or we’re going to cease being a national party, we’re going to be a regional party that fails to get into the majority and fails to do things on behalf of those working class people that were the backbone of the Democratic party for so long.”
Ryan formally announced his bid Thursday, noting his party has the smallest congressional minority since 1929.
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