Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan released his first congressional television ad Wednesday, part of the Wisconsin lawmaker's contingency plan if running mate Mitt Romney's bid for the White House fails.
Ryan is permitted under Wisconsin law to seek both his seat in the House and the vice presidency, and other candidates have done so in the past. Vice President Biden ran for his Senate seat and on the Democratic presidential ticket in 2008, then resigned after securing the vice presidency.
The Associated Press reported last week that Ryan has purchased commercial time with at least one Milwaukee television station.
In the ad, Ryan is shown speaking with voters on the floor of a factory.
"We need to end the growing government-control over the economy and when we put higher tax rates on American job creators than our foreign competitors do, we push jobs overseas," Ryan says in response to a question about what could be done to create good jobs. "We need to fix that and make our tax code fair, simple, and more competitive."
Ryan and the crowd are shown wearing safety goggles.
"We should balance the budget and eliminate ridiculous regulations that cost you money," Ryan continues. "With the right solutions, we can get this economy growing."
If Republicans fall short in the presidential race but Ryan prevails in his House contest, he would win his eighth term. Ryan faces Democratic challenger Rob Zerban in the 1st District race.
The commercial will be paid for from Ryan's congressional campaign committee, rather than the Romney presidential campaign. As of July 25, Ryan had more than $5.4 million in the bank for his congressional race, according to a Federal Election Committee filing.
