NORFOLK, VA. (AP) -- Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has selected Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan to be his running mate.
The candidate made his announcement to supporters via a phone app, saying "Mitt's Choice for VP is Paul Ryan."
The GOP ticket was set to appear together at 9 A.M. Eastern in Norfolk, Va. Romney and Ryan are kicking off a four-day bus tour that will take them to as many states.
Ryan, 42, is a seven-term Wisconsin congressman and currently chairs the House Budget Committee. Ryan's House-backed budget plan to curb spending and overhaul Medicaid and Medicare has been praised by conservatives and made him a frontrunner for the No. 2 spot on Romney's ticket.
On Thursday, Romney said in an NBC interview that he was looking for someone with "a strength of character" and "a vision for the country that adds something to the political discourse about the direction of the country."
At 42, Ryan is a generation younger than the 65-year-old Romney.
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