Reintroducing Ryan Solen, Paul Ryan’s election opponent

Mount Pleasant, WI- When Ryan Solen won Wisconsin’s partisan primary in August and became the Democratic nominee for the 1st Congressional District and Paul Ryan’s official opponent, most people wondered, despite Solen winning 59% of the primary vote, “who is this guy?”

In short, Ryan Solen is a rising star.

Democrats like Ryan Solen because, like Senator Bernie Sanders, he wants to ensure that every American has access to high quality health care with a universal single payer system. Solen shares with Democratic nominee for President Hillary Clinton a commitment to education reform, increasing teachers’ wages, literally fixing deteriorating school buildings so students have a modern space to learn, and refinancing student loans so cost in not an impediment to education. As with Vice Presidential nominee Senator Tim Kaine, Ryan Solen personally does not want anyone to have an abortion but knows that it is a woman’s choice to do what she feels is necessary for her own body under circumstances that are different in every instance. Senator Kaine and Ryan Solen are both dedicated to supporting the laws of the United States and will support women in their decisions.

Republicans who learn about Ryan Solen are intrigued because one of his priorities is balancing the national budget, not a common platform point for Democrats. They also like that Solen is for term limits in both the House and Senate. He wants to limit Representatives to six two-year terms for a maximum of twelve years and to have Senators serve two six-year terms. Solen argues this prevents legislators from becoming career politicians and focusing more on reelection strategy than working on actual legislation to help Americans in their districts and across the country and will impose these limits on himself should he be elected.

Republicans who support Republican nominee for president, Donald Trump, have started supporting Ryan Solen primarily because they are angry about the fallout between Trump and Solen’s opponent, Speaker Paul Ryan. When Paul Ryan uninvited Trump to campaign with him at the Wisconsin GOP Fall Fest fundraiser- an event attended by Solen for the purpose of meeting with Republicans to learn more about their concerns- they started to take notice of Ryan Solen. Calls and emails to Solen’s campaign poured in asking about Solen’s stances on various issues. While, of course, Solen and Trump do not see eye to eye on many issues, Trump supporters are impressed that Solen is an Army veteran of the war in Iraq whose primary motivation is to serve his country. They also find Solen to be “the real deal”- a Democrat who may not share all their views but who is someone they can count on knowing where he stands, who is open to listening to and researching both sides of an issue, and who is extremely committed to bipartisanship and has vowed to work across the aisle to make agreements that will benefit all Americans.

Ryan Solen is not a “yellow dog Democrat”, voting straight Democrat no matter what the issue. He is an American before a member of a political party; does not play games in the high stakes world of American politics. Ryan Solen recognizes that the United States is a complicated place and, while it may appear to be divided right now, we are all just people and we all want a stronger future, we just disagree on how to get there. Solen aims to unite and work for everyone.

With support for Ryan Solen growing, this race may very well be the upset of the 2016 election.

About Ryan Solen

Ryan Solen is an Army veteran of the war in Iraq and is seeking to represent Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District. He is a Digital Forensic Specialist and Computer Security Analyst. He is a married father of four and enjoys reading, writing, doing karate with his family, and relieves stress with his vintage Lego collection.
He is the Wisconsin Democratic Party’s Nominee to run for the U.S. House of Representatives to replace Paul Ryan. For more information, please visit www.solenforcongress.com

Committee to Elect Ryan Solen for Congress

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.