Ryan Plays Up Wisconsin Pride as Obama TV Ads Begin in State
By TRIP GABRIEL and JEFF ZELENY
DE PERE, Wis. — Paul D. Ryan is running for the second-highest office in the land, but a voter might have confused him for a state candidate here on Wednesday, so frequent were his Wisconsin references as he sought to maximize his native appeal.
He mentioned a local purveyor of “this really great jelly,” mentioned that he would later be interviewed by “a young woman from Appleton,” meaning the Fox News host Greta Van Susteren, and even shouted, “Go, Packers.”
“Pretty nice to have a cheesehead on the ticket, isn’t it?” Gov. Scott Walker said in introducing Mr. Ryan at a rally near Green Bay.
The appeals to state pride were laid on thick because Mr. Ryan’s addition to the Republican ticket comes as Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes are becoming increasingly competitive in the closing phase of the presidential race.
The Obama campaign on Wednesday began running its first television commercials in the state, three days after Mitt Romney began his own advertising there. Ads from Republican and Democratic outside groups are also running.
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