House Speaker Paul Ryan’s, R-Wis., retirement had the odd effect of making Democrat Randy Bryce’s campaign more difficult. By creating a legitimate opportunity for Democrats to flip the district, some in the party wondered whether the untested ironworker was really the best candidate to win Ryan’s open seat, and his sleepy primary battle intensified as a consequence of their mounting skepticism.
Bryce’s background made him attractive to national Democrats, desperate for proof the party could still appeal to working class voters, and he managed to score some big endorsements after his campaign announcement video went viral last June. But a new Vice profile of his candidacy suggests Bryce has been improperly claiming to have the endorsements of several elected officials.
Last August, Bryce conceded he made a “mistake” in saying he had the endorsement of Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. When Vice sought to verify the other endorsements Bryce touted on his website, one congressman’s office indicated his was false, and three additional endorsements were subsequently removed from the site amid the outlet’s probes.
From Vice’s report:
How were four elected officials mistakenly listed as endorsers on Bryce’s official campaign website?
Aside from being an ideological mismatch with the district, and despite all the money he’s raised, Bryce has other obstacles to electoral success. Whether this was another “mistake” or willful dishonesty, it won’t do Bryce any favors at a time some in the party were probably already rethinking the wisdom of rallying behind his bid.
