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Paul Ryan is GOP special guest at Packers tailgate
Paul Ryan is GOP special guest at Packers tailgate
GREEN BAY (CNN) -- Paul Ryan briefly tailgated outside Lambeau Field before his beloved Green Bay Packers played NFC rival Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, November 4th.
Wearing a Green Bay Packers jacket and tie, the Wisconsin lawmaker and Republican vice presidential nominee was swarmed by a crush of reporters and supporters near Sideline Sportsbar and a Romney campaign bus.
Ryan didn't appear to indulge in a Miller Lite, his beer of choice, but he played the bean bag-toss game "cornhole" with his kids.
Gov. Scott Walker, Sen. Ron Johnson and Rep. Reid Ribble of Wisconsin appeared with the seven-term congressman. Mitt Romney's sons, Matt and Josh, also joined their father's running mate in Green Bay, along with four of Romney's grandkids.
With the election just days away, Gov. Walker said there is no point in making predictions.
"In my race, people forget it was very close going into the election in June. In the end, we won by almost seven points, and it was really driven by turnout. We're the place that can make the difference. We made the difference in June. We sent the message that instead of big government and special interests, the taxpayers are in charge in Wisconsin and the taxpayers are gonna win again on Tuesday," Gov. Walker said.
The GOP heavyweights said they know success in and around Green Bay is crucial to their party's chances of winning Wisconsin.
"It's absolutely crucial. I'm telling everybody that I do believe the financial future of this country is gonna come down to Wisconsin, to Brown County, to Green Bay," Sen. Johnson said.
"We're trying to win every state. This is one of the key states -- one of the key battleground states and we're working hard, spending a lot of time and effort here," Rep. Ribble said.
The vice presidential hopeful's visit to Green Bay was brief. He arrived Saturday night, tailgated less than 15 minutes and left an hour and a half before kick-off so he could begin a four-state blitz with rallies in Ohio, Minnesota and Colorado.
At a town hall earlier this month in Waukesha, Ryan said he was feeling positive about a recent win by the Packers and was hoping that might rub off on his party.
"In Wisconsin we have shown that if leaders step up and lead we as voters have their backs. We haven't dedicated our electoral votes since 1984 to the Republican nominee. It is time we change that. We are on a winning streak here in Wisconsin. Let's keep that winning streak going," Ryan said on Oct. 15th.