Meet the Wisconsin ironworker who wants to dethrone Paul Ryan

last updated 20 June 2017

Wisconsin Democrat Randy Bryce announced his long-shot bid against Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Monday night in a stirring two-and-a-half-minute video disparaging the Republican health-care proposal.

"I've spent my entire life in southeastern Wisconsin," Bryce tells Wisconsinites. "I can see what people need. I can do so much more, and I will do so much more, taking my voice — taking our voice, and what we need — to Washington, D.C."

Bryce — who nods to his two decades as an ironworker with his Twitter handle, @IronStache — lost races for the Wisconsin legislature in 2012 and 2014. Ryan, a former vice presidential candidate, has held the 1st congressional district seat in the state since 1999. But despite the odds, Bryce remains optimistic: "I've learned a lot," he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "The people of Wisconsin know who I am. I have community roots."

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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