T here is no polite way of putting it, so best get straight to it.

“I’ve a big vision for the country. I have the opportunity to bring the country together. I’d do well in some of the districts where Trump won and bring some of those people back over, and start healing the country,” he says.

“The people of Iowa are going to have a chance to hear from all of us. They’re very engaged. We’re going to lay out our agenda see what happens.”

With just a hint of derision, he adds: “I guarantee you, I am not going to get lost in the shuffle.”

The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony. She has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege” Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty

There are 22 candidates seeking the party’s nomination, bookended in the most recent national poll by Morning Consult by Joe Biden on 40 per cent and, at the other end, by the likes of Eric Swalwell and Marianne Williamson who poll at less than 1 per cent. That survey puts Ryan in 11th slot, squeezed between senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and former Obama housing official Julian Castro.

As it stands, Ryan can expect to take part in one of the first two primary debates scheduled for next month. That is where he, along with the other lower-profile candidates, must seize the chance to make an impact and attach a ballistic missile to their brand. Despite its importance, the congressman says he has prepared no special strategy.

“People have to look and say, ‘Who’s the person in the state who can go toe to toe with Donald Trump and beat him?’” he says. “You never know how these things play out, who catches fire. All I know is, if you look back at the history of the primaries [and who ends up with the nomination], it’s never who’s winning nine months out.”

Ryan, 45, is speaking to The Independent from Youngstown, Ohio, the city where he studied and which is part of his constituency. Once a thriving industrial hub on the Mahoning River, it has long been a sorrowful exemplar for the unemployment and despair that swept through the Rust Belt as manufacturing jobs moved overseas in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1930, the population was 170,000; today it stands at 67,000.

In 2016, many of the disconsolate white working class voted for Trump, who took the battleground state of Ohio from Hillary Clinton, though Mahoning County, which includes Ryan’s Youngstown, voted for the Democrat 49.3-46.4.

Whatever national recognition Ryan has earned to this point is associated with his failed 2016 challenge to Nancy Pelosi to lead the Democrats in the House of Representatives. He says he respects Pelosi greatly, and that there was nothing personal about the decision to run against her, but felt that after the party failed to retake the House, it stopped focussing on helping the working class. He said he thought the party was now refocussed.

Youngstown’s population once stood at 170,000 but today is just 67,000 (Getty)

In Ohio, where Ryan was first elected in 2002, he has been a promoter of new industries such electric vehicles, AI and solar energy, something he believes could pay the kinds of wages working people once enjoyed.

He said Trump had won over voters by promising to bring back jobs to the heartland, but had failed to deliver. He accepts the loss of decent jobs was not a recent phenomenon, and that blame for their loss to countries such China cannot be laid at Trump’s feet, though he does attack the president for not fighting to win them back.

“Look at China. They’re dominating the electric vehicle market. They control 40 per cent of it. They’re dominating the solar market – they control 60 per cent of that. They’re running circles around around us when it goes to 5G,” he says.

“They’re on the move and we’re falling behind, because the president is distracted. He’s more interested in culture wars. He’s more interested in running a reality TV show out of the White House than he is in actually creating a long-term industrial policy.”

Ryan, a Catholic who is married to a schoolteacher and lives with their three children, has moderated his position on two issues of particular interests to Democrats. He was opposed to abortion until 2015, and he previously received an A rating from the National Rifle Association, which indicated his votes were in line with the gun lobbying group’s agenda. Following the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting in which 58 people were killed, he donated $20,000 that his campaign received from the NRA to groups supporting gun control.

Many of the people who voted for Trump in 2016 were middle class, suburban white women, who had previously opted for Barack Obama. Several reports have suggested Ryan could do well by tapping into this so called “yoga vote” demographic.

As it is, Ryan has not only written books on food (The Real Food Revolution) and mindfulness (A Mindful Nation) but is also a regular practitioner of hot yoga, something he manages despite his 6ft 4in frame.

Tim Ryan: How does a moderate white male from the midwest stand out among 20 rivals?

“We need to look at some of these alternative, integrated health approaches. We’ve seen things like yoga have tremendous impact on our veterans, who have come back with PTS,” he says. “I do hot yoga. I love it. It’s been very good for me. I have an old, beat-up, former quarterback body, so hot yoga does me right.”

Ryan insists this is not a gimmick. He says he wants to promote healthier lifestyles and supports programmes such as emotional wellness for schoolchildren. He also estimates perhaps 40 million people in America practise yoga.

“I think a lot of women who may have voted for Trump in 2016 may be looking elsewhere, and they see health and wellness as a real issue, and prevention as a real issue, and they’re worried about the kind of food their kids eat. And they’d be open to a candidate who’s talking about these things.”

Sometimes, says Ryan, Democrats have been having the wrong conversation. On healthcare, for instance, there is rightly much attention on expanding insurance coverage, but much less discussion around preventative medicine.

“Seventy-five per cent of our healthcare care costs are for chronic diseases that are largely preventable. So the national conversation needs to be about how do we get a little bit healthier so we can make a dent in the two to three trillion dollars we’re spending on diseases that can be prevented,” he says. The Centres for Disease Control, the US’s pre-eminent public health body, suggests the figure may be as high as 90 per cent, of an annual total of $3.3 trillion (£2.54 trillion).

Ryan adds: “Is it liberal or conservative? I don’t know. Sounds like commonsense to me.”

While a number of Democrats running for 2020 have supported calls for Trump’s impeachment, Ryan says he is “not there yet”, even though such a demand may be popular among younger voters. He believes he will still be able to appeal to young people “when they hear me and they hear my agenda around climate change, around criminal justice, around having an urban Marshall Plan [the US’s post World Two programme to help Western Europe] to get into our communities of colour and make some real investment, my agenda on food and health and wellness, and social and emotional learning in the school”.

He adds: “It’s about the future. So I think we’re going to do ok. I just need to continue to meet them.”

Ryan faces an intensely difficult challenge as he chases the nomination. Not only does he have a fraction of the name recognition of many of his rivals, he also has just a tiny proportion of their fundraising heft.

Also, at a time when progressives within the Democratic Party, along with women and people of colour, are more influential than ever before, he believes there is a path to victory for a moderate, working class white man from the midwest.

He also recognises that, were he to go on and actually win the presidency, he would be the first sitting congressman to do so since James A Garfield in 1881, who served just six months before being assassinated.