Holy shit. This ad from @IronStache announcing his run against Paul Ryan is something. Take a couple minutes. Watch. #WI01 pic.twitter.com/oveJZVle2c — Tim Hogan (@timjhogan) June 20, 2017

There are probably a decent amount of people in the United States right now who want Paul Ryan to not be a congressman anymore. While it’s not like Ryan will be leaving Congress overnight or anything, a strong and convincing competitor is the first step to achieving what many may think is necessary to get things back on track in DC. Regardless of political beliefs though, Ryan’s newly introduced challenger Randy Bryce is a formidable everyman of an opponent and his first campaign ad announcing his candidacy for Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District is truly incredible to watch.

No, seriously. Spend the two-plus minutes to watch the full ad above and see for yourself.

Done? Great. The ad is an emotional plea in some spots, a powerful admonishment of the current political status in Washington in others, and overall less of an announcement of Bryce’s candidacy than a warning to Ryan that his seat is not as safe as he may think after all. The entire thing starts by tying Ryan directly to the president’s policies by showing a clip of Trump congratulating him on a “job well done” and then segues into Ryan saying that people can’t always get everything they want when it comes to healthcare policies.



Which is all the setup that Randy Bryce needed to throw a few proverbial sucker punches Ryan’s way in what is one of the most affecting political ads ever created. Bryce is a cancer-surviving Army veteran who also happens to be a union iron worker with a doctor for a mother and a police officer for a father – not to mention his brother is a cop too and his sister is a public school teacher. In addition, Bryce’s mother suffers from MS and takes up to 20 medications for her condition, about which he says there is “no doubt in [his] mind the other people don’t have what she has.” That being a reliable form of health insurance and access to necessary medications.

The ad is also chock full with direct shots at Washington and Paul Ryan himself, with Bryce saying the system is “extremely flawed” and that he was raised to believe if someone falls behind that everyone is stronger when we carry them with us…that you should look out for each other. He ends by not only requesting a bigger table if not every perspective has a seat at the current one, but directly invites Ryan to trade places with him and go work iron for a bit while Bryce goes to Washington to handle things.

Even if this ad doesn’t eventually lead to Bryce getting elected, it’s still a powerful look at the disparity in experiences and perspectives between Washington DC and other parts of the country.