Ryan loses VP but wins re-election in Wisconsin

Paul Ryan came up short in his vice presidential bid, but his backup plan worked.

The Wisconsin congressman easily won re-election Tuesday night to the U.S. House seat he has held since 1998. He also won his previous congressional elections by comfortable margins.

Even before he was tapped as Mitt Romney's No. 2, Ryan was seen as a rising star within the Republican Party. As chairman of the powerful House Budget Committee, he gained prominence when he drew up an austere budget blueprint that would reshape Medicare for many people into a voucher-like program. He also attracted attention for wanting to keep tax breaks in place that were set to expire for the wealthy.

He was challenged this year for southeast Wisconsin's 1st District by Democratic businessman Rob Zerban, whose grassroots campaign focused on his credentials as an entrepreneur, and Libertarian Keith Deschler. But it was an uphill climb for both challengers.

Ryan crisscrossed the U.S. as the GOP vice presidential candidate, stopping in Wisconsin for high-dollar campaign fundraisers and a handful of rallies across the state. Meanwhile, Zerban relied on grassroots efforts to introduce himself to local voters. The former Kenosha Board supervisor said he would fight for middle-class families where Ryan had failed them.

Zerban tried for weeks to get Ryan to debate him, without success. And he raised less than half the money that Ryan brought in: The congressman raised $4.9 million compared to Zerban's $2.1 million.

Zerban had hoped his campaign would benefit from the heightened scrutiny Ryan was under as a national candidate, but that never happened.

The 1st District stretches from the shores of Lake Michigan through industrial zones, bedroom communities and farm fields until it reaches Ryan's hometown of Janesville to the west. The seat, which also includes some south Milwaukee suburbs, has been in Republican hands since 1995.

State law allowed the 42-year-old married father to run for Congress and vice president at the same time.

If he had won both races, Ryan would have had to resign from Congress and a special election would have been held to fill the House seat.