“Tim Ryan is running the best Senate race in the country and having to do it all by his lonesome,” said Irene Lin, an Ohio-based Democratic strategist who managed Tom Nelson’s Senate primary campaign in Wisconsin this year. After losing two presidential campaigns and a race for governor in the state since 2016, national Democrats are wary about spending in Ohio, once a quintessential battleground. The barrage includes a spot attacking Ryan, who has portrayed himself as a moderate, as a party-line voter beholden to Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. Other national Democrats have tipped their hat to Ryan, noting how his moderate message has put the seat within striking distance, if not higher on the party’s list of priorities. “The national Democrats have walked away from Ohio prematurely,” Griffin said.

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