Failed Democrat Senate Candidate Tim Ryan Joins ‘Role-Playing’ Show as Fictional Senator

Failed Senate candidate and former U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) has joined the cast of a “role-playing” show on PBS, taking on the pretend role of a senator trying to deal with a fictional president.

Ryan, who was defeated by Vice President JD Vance for Ohio’s junior senator seat in 2022, acted in the May 20 episode of Breaking the Deadlock: A Power Play, alongside unsuccessful presidential candidate and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Rep. Dan Goldman (R-NY), former Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), and other politicos. 

“Lol Failed former Ohio Senate candidate Tim Ryan has been reduced to playing a US Senator in some crappy show on PBS,” wrote Republican strategist Andrew Surabian on X. “Pretty humiliating, but certainly the closest he will ever get to the US Senate.”

The Ohio Republican Party joined in on making fun of the ex-congressman, calling him out for “playing make-believe” as the position he failed to win:

Ryan promoted the show on his own X page, saying he was “excited” to be apart of it:

“Breaking the Deadlock brings together people from across the political spectrum in a way that requires them to go beyond the usual talking points and speak to our core values as Americans,” panel moderator Aaron Tang said in a statement. “By using hypothetical scenarios that rhyme with reality, we create space for honest introspection and conversation—and even some surprising breakthroughs.”

Ryan currently serves as senior adviser for the Progressive Policy Institute’s (PPI) Campaign for Working Americans.

PPI, founded in 1989 by the Democratic Leadership Council “as the intellectual home of the New Democrats,” is an arm of the self-described “center-left” Third Way, Breitbart News’s Bradley Jaye reported in March. 

Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.