Paul Ryan's Ex-Personal Driver Now Wants to Replace Him

A former driver for House Speaker Paul Ryan who has been active in Wisconsin Republican politics for years announced Sunday that he is running to succeed Ryan in Congress. Bryan Steil, an attorney from Ryan's hometown of Janesville and a member of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents, becomes the likely Republican frontrunner after the field of better-known potential candidates cleared for his entry. "I want to take my problem-solving skills to Congress. I think they need problem solvers, doers ... not talkers," Steil said in prepared remarks. Steil, 37, entered the race less than two weeks after Ryan said he would not seek re-election. Per the AP, Ryan said Friday that he had no immediate plans to endorse anyone.

Should he win the primary, Steil's likely opponent will be union iron worker Randy Bryce, who made a national splash with his launch video and nickname "Iron Stache." Bryce has been leading in fundraising and was put on the national House Democrats' list of top challengers in Republican-held districts even before Ryan stepped aside. In a statement, Bryce campaign spokeswoman Lauren Hitt called Steil "part of the institutional Republican swamp that believes we should give tax breaks to the wealthy and pay for it by attacking working people's retirements and healthcare." The primary is Aug. 14. (More Paul Ryan stories.)