Now that we know House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is not seeking re-election, voters in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District will have a Ryan-less ballot for the first time since 1998 come November.
The Democratic primary to challenge Ryan has been dominated by iron worker Randy Bryce — known for his viral campaign launch video — who’s raised a serious amount of cash for a long shot candidate. With Ryan’s retirement, Bryce’s chances still aren’t great, but they’re somewhat better (The Crosstab bumped his odds up to 42 percent), especially given the state Supreme Court results last week, which signaled that a blue wave is set to crash against Wisconsin. Even so, as Bryce’s bid for the nomination has unfolded and some of his past problems have made their way into news reports, he’s hardly proven to be the perfect candidate.
