Unlike several vice presidential candidates in recent years, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin can count on the support of his running mate if he sets his sights on the Republican presidential nomination -- and recent signs indicate that Ryan is going all out to raise his profile.
In an interview with CBS News Thursday morning, Ann Romney, wife of defeated Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, said she and her husband are behind Ryan if he runs for president in 2016.
There are some great candidates out there, Ann Romney told CBS News. Mitt and I are always very, very partial to Paul Ryan, but we dont even know if hes going to run.
While Ryan still has the support of the Romneys, despite not carrying his home state of Wisconsin, defeated running mates have often been at odds with each other in recent years. In the 2004 election cycle, Al Gore supported Howard Dean over Joe Lieberman, his understudy from the 2000 Democratic ticket. John Kerry dissed John Edwards, his running mate from 2004, to back Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination in 2008.
Ryan is not generating the buzz other Republican hopefuls are -- specifically Marco Rubio and Rand Paul. Even worse for Ryans chances, another Wisconsin Republican, Gov. Scott Walker, is starting to raise his profile and increasing chatter that he will run for the presidency in 2016. Last week Walker headed to Iowa, home of the first presidential caucus.
But as the Republican defeat in November increasingly fades in the rear view mirror, Ryan is starting to raise his profile. On Wednesday night, Ryan took to Fox News to talk to Bill OReilly about recent revelations that the IRS was targeting conservative and tea party groups. The spot on Fox News was only part of a campaign this week as Ryan courted the national media in New York.
Americans can expect to see more of Ryan in the months to come. Last week, National Review reported that Ryan is writing an autobiography which will be released in 2014.
All signs indicate that Ryan is gearing up for 2016 despite generally keeping a low profile since November. Only 43, Ryan has one advantage over some of the other possible Republican presidential candidates -- hes been tested on the national level. Republicans prefer presidential candidates who have either run for the nomination before -- Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bob Dole, John McCain, Romney -- or are very familiar, like George W. Bush, heir and namesake of a former president. While there are other candidates from previous election cycles who could run again for the Republican nomination, like Rick Santorum, the likes of Rubio, Paul and Walker remain unknown to many of the GOP faithful.
To be sure, 2016 is still a long time away, but Ryan is starting to re-emerge on the national stage -- and he has the support of Mitt Romney. While the defeated presidential candidate did not greatly reshape the GOP, by keeping Romney in his corner, Ryan can avoid some awkward landmines that damaged Lieberman and Edwards.
Tallahassee political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this analysis piece exclusively for Sunshine State News.
