Romney to announce vice-president candidate – Paul Ryan top contender

Republican Mitt Romney is set to announce the Wisconsin representative, Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate, according to US media reports.

Several US media reports said all the signs were pointing to 42-year-old Ryan as the leading contender to be Mr Romney's running mate.

The vice-presidential candidate will be named at an event on a former warship, the USS Wisconsin, in Norfolk, Virginia.

It seems Romney has decided on Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan.

But the campaign has made no official comment on the candidate's identity.

Romney is challenging President Barack Obama in the 6 November vote.

Analysts say Romney will be hoping to wrest back momentum in the campaign after a series of pro-Obama campaign ads attacking his record.

The former governor of Massachusetts is set to begin a four-day bus tour through key battleground states.

The trip campaign will visit the states of Virginia, North Carolina and Florida before finishing in Ohio.

In particular, Romney will seek to fight back against the Democrats' push to portray him as upper-class and out-of-touch with ordinary Americans, observers say.

Recent opinion polls suggest a close race between the two men, with Obama tending to have a slight lead in most surveys.

As chairman of the Budget committee in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, Ryan is seen as likely to add electoral firepower on what are expected to be the key election issues - jobs, the economy and the budget deficit.

He is also a staunch conservative who could enthuse the Republican base, and counteract some conservatives' scepticism about Romney's political past as governor of the traditionally liberal state of Massachusetts.

Other Republicans mentioned as being on Romney's shortlist include Ohio representative Rob Portman, 56, and former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty, 51.

Mr Portman is seen as likely to help Romney gain votes in the important swing state of Ohio, while Pawlenty could improve Romney's appeal to working-class voters.

In a little over two weeks' time, Romney will be formally confirmed as candidate at the Republican Party convention in Tampa, Florida.

His bitter rival in the primaries, Rick Santorum, will be a speaker at the convention, it was announced earlier in the week.