Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan—GOP finance guru and former vice president nominee—left the door open for another White House bid in his latest interview.
“I’ve decided I will consider this later,” Ryan told The Des Moines Register. “Once I’m through with this term, then I’m going to give a hard look at it.”
Ryan told the Register he’s focusing his energy on the budget and “not worrying about my own personal ambitions or career moves.” But he’s also heading to Iowa.
Ryan will make his first visit to politically all-important state this weekend, where he’ll give the keynote address at a fundraiser for Gov. Terry Branstad on Saturday night.
Ryan, 43, is polling behind other presumed candidates. In an October Quinnipiac poll of prospective 2016 candidates, Paul Ryan came in fourth below Sen. Rand Paul, who came in first, Gov. Chris Christie, and Sen. Ted Cruz, respectively.
Ryan, like Christie, is a clear favorite of the GOP establishment, so he too may face Tea Party opposition in the primary.
Ryan also told the Register that he feels it’s crucial to deliver on immigration.
“When we get to it,” Ryan told the Register, “it’s not extremely clear. But there are many of us who still would like to see it happen in a step-by-step process before the end of the year. But if that doesn’t occur, we’ll still keep moving for it because, again, the status quo is unacceptable.”
After that? A GOP alternative for health care reform.
“I would anticipate that Republicans, myself included, are going to have a lot more to say about how we should repeal and replace Obamacare,” he said.
Obamacare gives the GOP “an opportunity to show what patient-centered health care really looks like, so that we can have a system in America where people can get access to affordable health care, even if they have a pre-existing condition, without this costly government takeover that is costing us jobs.”
Jane Timm