Politico profiled Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH) yesterday, the Democratic candidate for the Buckeye state’s open Senate seat. The piece spotlights Ryan’s efforts to distance himself from the mainstream Democratic brand and cast himself as a “prolabor Democrat” as he centers his campaign on “unions and working class Americans.” He has denounced demands to “defund the police,” for instance, and emphasized his support for public safety and local cops — even attempting to reframe the debate over police violence in workers’ rights terms.

The Ohio race may prove decisive in determining control of the Senate. Ryan currently maintains a narrow polling edge and considerable fundraising advantage over his Republican counterpart, J.D. Vance. It will be interesting to see the extent to which his blue-collar aesthetic and worker-oriented messaging — an identity long embraced by the state’s senior senator, Sherrod Brown (D-OH) — defies political gravity and resonates with voters in this increasingly conservative state.

After rejecting a proposal that would have undermined their retirement benefits, nearly 2,500 Boeing employees, represented by the Machinists, are set to strike next week at three of the company’s plants in the St. Louis area. “We cannot accept a contract that is not fair and equitable, as this company continues to make billions of dollars each year off the backs of our hardworking members,” the union said.

In labor organizing news, 80 employees at Mom’s Organic Market, a grocery chain in the Washington, D.C. area, have voted to join the Teamsters.