Mitt Romney will announce his vice presidential pick Saturday morning in Norfolk, Va., his campaign said late Friday night.
After weeks of anticipation, Romney’s campaign released a statement after 11 p.m. Friday night saying that the presumptive Republican nominee would unveil his selection early Saturday morning during a scheduled tour of the U.S.S. Wisconsin, a World War II era battleship in this southern Virginia port city.
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Speculation late Friday night centered on Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, the 42-year old chairman of the House Budget Committee whose vision for entitlement reform has enchanted conservatives. The conservative Weekly Standard reported Friday night that the likeliest choice was Ryan, a seven-term Congressman whose budget blueprint has made him a lionized figure in the GOP and a lightning rod for Democrats. For Romney, picking Ryan would be a uncharacteristically high-risk move that would energize conservatives. It might also be taken as a sign that Romney, who has lost ground in recent national polls, felt the need to shake up the race.
The announcement will kick off a four-day bus tour through a quarter of pivotal swing states, which is designed to highlight “the Romney plan for a stronger middle class.”