A day after being picked up by Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney as his running mate, Paul Ryan has received a low popularity rating as a vice presidential candidate in a national survey.
Ryan, who currently is a member of the US House of Representatives, is seen only as a "fair" or "poor" choice by 42% of the Americans against the 39% who think he is an "excellent" or "pretty good" vice presidential choice, reported the USA Today / Gallup poll taken on Sunday.
Reacting to the survey, Romney pollster Neil Newhouse said the findings reflect the fact that Ryan, a House member since 1999, isn't widely known, The US Today reported.
The numbers indicated that Ryan was "not a nationally known figure" prior to being named as Governor Romney's vice-presidential pick, Newhouse observed.
"Congressman Ryan's selection reinforces the seriousness of the issues that will be debated in this election and President Obama's failure to get Americans back to work and his inability to strengthen the middle class," he he was quoted as saying.
The US Today/Gallup poll also found 17% of adults saying that they were more likely to vote for Romney in November because Ryan is his running mate, and that 36% of Republicans were now more likely to vote for Romney.
In 2008, only three out of 10 Republicans said the choice of Sarah Palin made them more likely to vote for John McCain, the newspaper said.
Meanwhile Ryan, who was addressing a public meeting Iowa, had to face repeated interruptions by people who heckled him during his first solo appearance after being selected as Republican vice presidential candidate.
"You know, it's funny. It's funny because Iowans and Wisconsinites, we like to be respectful of one another and peaceful with one another and listen to each other. These ladies must not be from Iowa or Wisconsin," Ryan said after the security escorted away the two ladies who tried to rush towards the podium.
