How Romney's Choice For Running Mate Will Impact Colorado
DENVER (CBS4)- Analysts predict that presumptive Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's choice of running mate will have little impact on the way Colorado voters will cast their ballots this fall.
"It's the candidate at the top of the ticket that will ultimately guide people's voting decisions," said University of Denver Political Science Associate Professor Peter Hanson. "Voters will decide whether or not they support Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will factor into that decision in a relatively small way."
Romney officially made the announcement that Rep. Paul Ryan will join the Republican ticket in his bid for the White House on Saturday morning.
Ryan, 42, is chairman of the House Budget Committee and primary author of conservative tax-and-spending blueprints that the tea party-infused Republican majority approved despite Democratic opposition in 2011 and again in 2012.
Colorado will play a key role in the upcoming election because it is one of a handful of battleground states.
The choice for Ryan is considered a bold move by some analysts.
"He's chairman of the House Budget Committee and he's the author of a fairly controversial budget plan which is best known for its proposal to reform Medicare," said Hanson. "I think a lot of Republicans are excited about that plan because they see it as a step toward fiscal discipline. On the other hand, Democrats view it as a target during the campaign. They feel the plan to reform Medicare is something the voters won't support.
"Well, I think this is a signal that Romney intends to make the budget a center piece of his campaign."
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