By now you’ve no doubt heard that it’s been confirmed Republican Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional district has been chosen as Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate.
However, Ryan having been chosen as Romney’s running mate brings up an interesting situation back in his Congressional district – he’ll be on the ballot twice. Under Wisconsin law, Rep. Ryan does not have to give up his seat in the House of Representatives while he’s a candidate for vice president, and while Ryan choosing to run for his seat in the House of Representatives at the same time that he runs for VP wouldn’t be unprecedented (see Joe Biden in 2008), it certainly casts doubt on what Ryan thinks of the chances of a Romney/Ryan ticket in the fall.
As Aaron Camp of Blue Downstate notes, if Ryan was truly “all in” with his vice-presidential run, Ryan would have at least ended his re-election bid to the House of Representatives, if not resigned from the House of Representatives altogether.
This year Paul Ryan has a credible Democratic candidate challenging him in the 1st CD, and that candidate is Rob Zerban. Having met and spoken with Rob, I know he’d be a great Representative for that district, but more importantly, he’s committed to that district. While Paul Ryan will be gallivanting around the country to further his national ambitions, Rob Zerban will be back in the 1st district talking to voters and listening to their concerns.
Here’s a new ad from Zerban’s campaign highlighting the difference between him and Paul Ryan.
Go Zerban. Paul Ryan is so full of himself. His district has one of the highest depressed economies in Wisconsin. He is a Koch puppet. Work hard and play by the rules … Ha from his wealthy family business and his wifes money. He never worked for it and went to school on social security benefits from his father and now he wants to not let others have those same chances in life. Seniors do not support him.