Paul Ryan opposed to Wisconsin Electoral College scheme

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said in an interview published Monday that he opposes a movement that would have reapportioned how his state awards presidential electors, even though such a change would have benefited his 2012 vice presidential bid.

Under the proposal, Wisconsin would award Electoral College votes by congressional district, rather than winner-take-all. Under that plan, Republicans would have taken half of Wisconsin's 10 electoral votes, despite President Obama winning the state overall. But Ryan said he saw strategic value in maintaining the current winner-take-all effort.

"I've always kind of liked the idea of being targeted as a state," Ryan told the Wisconsin State Journal editorial board on Tuesday. "I'd hate to be a flyover state. I'd like to be in the hunt for being a targeted state. I think it's good for us."

The effort in Wisconsin is part of a national campaign in Republican-controlled swing states to aid the party's presidential prospects. Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, a Wisconsinite, has endorsed the proposals that have emerged in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Michigan and Florida, as well as his own state.

But the movement has stumbled out of the gate, with high-profile Republicans like Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker balking at the changes.

“One of our advantages is, as a swing state, candidates come here. We get to hear from the candidates,” Walker told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “That’s good for voters. If we change that, that would take that away, it would largely make us irrelevant.”

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