Ryan keeping options open for 2016

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Tuesday he’s keeping his options open for 2016, and won’t consider a presidential bid until Congress breaks for the year.

The GOP’s vice presidential nominee in 2012 made the comment at a fundraiser he headlined in New Hampshire for a House Republican colleague, according to the Associated Press. 

Ryan serves as chairman of the House Budget Committee, and said he’d like to focus on that role and “worry about those things later on.”

{mosads}New Hampshire is a critical state in presidential cycles because it hosts the first primary election after the Iowa caucuses.

Asked if his former running mate, Mitt Romney, should run for the White House again, Ryan said “I’d love it if he did, but I don’t think he would.” 

Ryan’s name has appeared on a number of polls for the GOP presidential race in 2016. Other contenders include former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Sens. Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio.

In a Washington Post-ABC News poll released late last month, Ryan led the pack with 20 percent support. Hillary Clinton, on the other hand, was the clear frontrunner for the Democrats in the poll, receiving 73 percent support.

Ryan has served in Congress since 1999.