
By: CBS4 Newsroom
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 Saturday morning.
Ryan, a seven-term Wisconsin congressman, a favorite of some conservatives. Ryan heads the House Budget Committee and is author of a House-passed budget that would slash federal spending and overhaul entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare.
In prepared remarks Saturday morning, Ryan said President Obama has led the "worst economic recovery in 70 years.'' He notes that unemployment has been above 8 percent for more than three years, the longest stretch since the Great Depression.
Ryan is promising not to "duck the tough issues.'' He says he has the courage to tell the truth.
At 42, Ryan is a generation younger than the 65-year-old Romney.
Romney and Ryan are in Norfolk, Virginia. They're kicking off a four-day bus tour that will take them to as many states.