Ryan and Romney (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will hold a rally in Michigan on Friday, making a joint appeal to voters in a state Republicans are hoping might become more competitive for the GOP this fall.
The GOP ticket headline a rally in Commerce, Mich., near Detroit, in what will be Ryan's first visit to Romney's home state. The decision to put Michigan on the candidates' schedule suggests the Romney campaign isn't abandoning hope that Romney's personal roots there—among other things, his father was a popular former governor—might help the GOP ticket in a state that has long been viewed as safe Democratic territory.
A Foster-McCollum poll conducted for Fox News 2 Detroit last week found Romney with a 4 point lead over Obama in the state--a shift from recent polls in the state which found Obama with the edge.
It will be the second time this week Romney and Ryan have campaigned together. On Monday, the two appeared at a town hall in New Hampshire.
The N.H. rally marked a strategy from the Romney campaign, which had initially indicated the two would not share a stage until next week's Republican National Convention in Tampa. But the campaign dialed back on that plan, citing huge crowds that turned out to see Romney and his vice-presidential running mate on stage together. A Romney aide also cited chemistry between the presumptive GOP nominee and his VP—noting Ryan's ability to talk about Romney's personal attributes and record in a way that the candidate has often struggled to communicate on his own.
Romney and Ryan will also headline a rally near Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday, a Romney aide confirms.