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Its still more than three years until the next presidential election, and yet here was Ray Buckley the chairman of the New Hampshire Democratic Party for the last decade riding shotgun last Wednesday from Boston to Hopkinton, New Hampshire, with Rep. Tim Ryan, the 44-year old Democrat from Youngstown, Ohio.

Ryan made a name for himself when he challenged Nancy Pelosi for the leadership of the House Democrats last year, arguing he was the right man for the job because he was one of the few Democrats able to handily win reelection in a district where many of his white, working-class constituents also voted for Donald Trump.

Buckley and Ryan have known each other for two decades, the starting point for an, "Oh gosh, how did we get so old?' riff that cracks up the crowd at a backyard fundraiser for the New Hampshire House Democrats on Wednesday afternoon. They met when Ryan was in law school in New Hampshire, managing a state Senate campaign for Steve DeStefano, who lost by a heartbreaking five votes.

But despite the near-constant ribbing, last week's New Hampshire visit was not just a reunion of old friends. In June, Ryan campaigned for a Democratic candidate in South Carolina. Next month, he'll make his second trip of the year to Iowa.

Which begs the question: What the hell is Ryan doing?

A Cheshire Cat-style smile spreads across his face when a reporter at New Hampshires major television station, WMUR, casually asks if Ryan's running for president. Ryans sitting in the green room, waiting to do a television hit. Is this interview happening right now? he says after a few seconds. This will be the first of four times he gets asked this question in the span of six hours.

Tim Ryan for President wouldnt be totally out of left field hes a charismatic guy with a compelling biography representing Democrat-turned-Trump counties in arguably the most important swing state in the country. Hes been on the short list of potential candidates for nearly every statewide office in Ohio for several years. But one by one, hes passed on each one of them. After 16 years in the House, his rsum isnt unimpressive, but by his own admission it could be stronger. Trumps election galvanized him, he said, and he didnt want his toddler to grow up and say Dad, you were congressman for like 20 years, whatd you do? I dont want to say, well, I started tech companies in downtown Youngstown. I want to say more than that, he said.

So is he considering a run for president? Another WMUR reporter, political director Adam Sexton, asks him this time on air. I have no idea at this point. But well see, Ryan says. I like being out around the country, I like talking about this, I like crafting the message, and I think maybe the country needs someone from a place like Youngstown, Ohio, that has really tried to develop the local economy at the local level, and well see where it goes.

Hes not the only one taking this approach. His fellow House Democrat Seth Moulton will appear with him in Iowa next month. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is heading to New Hampshire later this month. Maryland Rep. John Delaney actually just went ahead and announced his presidential bid last month because its never too early to start campaigning when nobody knows who you are. This is not to mention the bevy of more oft-mentioned Democrats in Congress and around the country who are making moves that seem geared toward future ambitions.

Look, this is the first time in a generation that we dont have an overwhelming favorite, Buckley says on the drive to New Hampshire. And anyone that has the capacity to be a good president should absolutely consider it.

As for Ryan, Buckley turns toward the backseat of the car and mouths, He should run.

Ryan, at least at this juncture, would rather talk about the Democratic Partys future than his own. His district is the epicenter of the Trump phenomenon, a place where Obama won by 28 points but Clinton won by a mere six. Ryan represents those much-analyzed white working-class voters, who even as they bailed on Democrats to vote for Trump reelected Ryan by a 36% margin. And in the wake of Clintons loss, Ryan has set out to try to turn Democrats into the candidates who can win back his constituents in a presidential election, by focusing on an economic message.

I get more mad at the Democrats over the years that we let this happen that this guy came. Obviously we werent doing what we needed to be doing, he says.

Ryan's first step in his plan to reshape his party after its 2016 loss was running for Democratic leader, challenging Pelosi for the post she has held for a decade. He felt that after such a devastating defeat, the Democratic Party needed to change and that meant changing its leaders. He lost badly. But the bid gave him the notoriety, as he puts it, to take his show on the road.

He flew to South Carolina in June to campaign for the long-shot Democratic candidate in a special election to replace Budget Director Mick Mulvaney. Earlier this month, he campaigned for the Democratic Senate candidate in Alabama who has an even longer shot. From there, he drove to Mississippi to attend a conference with members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Next hell head to Kentucky for a Democratic conference, and to Indiana with Sen. Joe Donnelly.

Lets go down there and dust it up, he said of his most recent trip to Alabama.

Who knows. I mean who knows what Trumps gonna be doing by December, when the Alabama Senate contest will take place. I mean, Jesus. Who knows what could happen by then.

Besides, he says, if Democrats are going to win back House seats in 2018, theyre going to have to put a lot of seats on the board. And the off year, when tensions are running a little lower, is a good time to make some inroads.

Thats why I think its important to go to these places, cause if youre afraid to go there, whats the use? Just write people off? Like high school, you can sit at the cool kid table 'cause you voted for us, but if you dont sit at the cool kid table, you dont matter. To me, thats not what its about. And weve got to let every American know they matter to us and period, he says.

Ryan isnt choosing where to go, he says, so much as accepting invitations. But if he were hypothetically to be considering a presidential bid, they would be useful locations to travel to. Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina hold three of the earliest nominating contests. In 2016, Alabama's primary was on Super Tuesday; Kentucky's was the next week. Both of those are states Clinton won in the primaries, helping cement her victory over Bernie Sanders.

Ryan is adamant that a Democratic message moving forward cant just be a rejection of Trump and what he stands for.

"We spent a lot of time talking about him in 2016, he tells a woman at a backyard fundraiser for the New Hampshire House Democrats. We weren't talking about them the voters, he says.

We can't let this guy get us so mad that we end up just engaging him on every single minute of every single day, he later added during his remarks.

But the events in Charlottesville the weekend prior made it harder not to define Democrats in opposition to the president.

Youve got to rebrand and be out there pushing something thats very very positive. And the contrast now too can be very sharp given what hes doing," Ryan said. "You know, like youre either with the Nazis and Trump or youre with the Democrats.

So what is Ryan doing riding through New Hampshire in the backseat of an SUV, as Buckley regales him with fun facts about the state (Thats where the inventor of the Segway lives. This is where Velcro was invented. Thats the building where Adam Sandler bought an apartment for his mother)?

Im pushing a national message, Ryan says with a laugh. I feel like I understand what needs to be done because Ive grown up in this area and Ive been around enough to know what, how to get these communities back, he explains.

I dont want to say I understand it better than anybody, but I dont think theres anybody that understands it more than I do. I get it. I get it. I know what needs to be done. Ive been in Congress 15 years. Im not new, he adds.

In a sort of Trumpian way, Ryan thinks Democrats should be talking bigger.

Think big. Reverse global warming. What are we doing? You know, were Americans. Neutral? Minimum wage? Like, what are we doing here? Its driving me nuts. Like this is not what were here for. This is not the D-Day invasion, like this is like, well, were gonna send a couple guys over with a couple of boats and see what happens. No, this is like were gonna go in and were gonna make this happen, and were gonna hit some roadblocks, but... I just think that kind of aspirational message is needed for us, Ryan says, getting as animated as he got all day.

He never quite directly answers the question of whether hes running for president, but in his side conversations he talks like someone who is considering it.

If I ever ran for president, Id look like Bill Clinton. I mean, I would turn into a bubba. I mean, you go to these events and youre nervous and you like, eat, he said after Buckley recounted a story about another candidate eating ice cream.

Apropos of his figure, Ryan suggests there might be some false reporting out there about it.

I forget what reporter I was talking to, they asked me about Paul Ryan, and I said, you know bah bah bah, yeah I see him at the gym. I said, you know, obviously, you know my abs are better than his. And Im totally joking, obviously, and the reporter puts it in the story, and doesnt say like, he joked or like anything. I was like, no, no no, Ryan says.

Asked if that means he hopes this part of the interview shouldnt be part of the story, Ryan says he just wants proper credit for his sense of humor. If you say that he joked, yeah I think thats pretty funny. I think it just shows how funny I am, he says.

After downing a small coffee, with two shots of espresso in it and extra cream in the car, Ryan declares himself hyped. Gonna rip my shirt off at the next event, he cracks, with a joking, Hulk-style noise. Yeah, thatll lose votes.

Ryans day in New Hampshire starts with a fundraiser for state House Democrats. At his second event for young Democrats, he spends about 15 minutes talking to candidates as young as 18 who are running for local offices. Hes adamant that this has to be a part of what Democrats spend their time doing over the next three and a half years. Its the only way to break through in a moment when everything is defined in Trump's reflection.

Were all living inside Donald Trumps head now, whether we like it or not, like, we see it, tweet by tweet by tweet, Ryan says. And so weve got to get underneath all of that and just grind it out with a message thats aspirational and position ourselves for when were ready for a change.

So what does he say when nonreporters ask what hes doing traipsing through Iowa and New Hampshire?

Oh, I say were announcing for president next week, he deadpans, before dissolving into laughter.

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This House Democrat Lost A Leadership Race To Nancy Pelosi. Now He May Run For President. - BuzzFeed News