Paul Ryan on a potential Scott Walker bid for president: "I think he's got a really good chance"
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WITI) -- Congressman Paul Ryan, a former vice presidential candidate says Governor Scott Walker has a "good chance" in his own potential run for the White House.
In recent months, Governor Walker seems to have vaulted into the national spotlight as he explores a possible run for the White House, and now, he's getting advice from someone who knows firsthand what that campaign trail looks like.
"We talk fairly often. Scott's a good friend of mine. I just give him advice just to be himself. I think he's got a really good chance and I look forward to seeing how it goes for him," Ryan said.
Ryan was the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee in 2012.
While Governor Walker hasn't yet officially declared his presidential candidacy, all signs are pointing towards a run. Early polling has placed Walker among the GOP's front runners.
"I want Scott to do the announcement on his own terms. I think he's got a very good chance and a very good opportunity and I think he's, I think people are taking great interest in his candidacy," Ryan said.
UW-Milwaukee Professor Mordecai Lee says one shouldn't take Ryan's comments to mean he's endorsing Walker for president.
"Politicians are very shrewd and very disciplined and when they say something they mean just exactly that. And we shouldn't take something beyond their actual words," Lee said.
Ryan is the chairman of the GOP's presidential trust, which spends money to support the party's presidential nominee. Because of that, he's publicly said he won't officially back any of the primary contenders.
"So here you've got a situation where a politician is threading the needle just perfectly. In other words, saying something that sounds vaguely friendly to a fellow Wisconsinite, but on the other hand, staying neutral between all the candidates," Lee said.
Lee says Ryan remains a very viable candidate for the vice presidential nomination -- depending upon who the presidential nominee is. He says a Walker-Ryan ticket is extremely unlikely unless one of them were to move. The constitution prevents a president and a vice president from winning the electoral college if they reside in the same state.