Republican Sen. John Cornyn on Thursday called Paul Ryan a star in the Republican Party and said the Wisconsin congressman would be a “great” GOP candidate for president.
Cornyn, a senator from Texas, made the comments on Laura Ingraham’s radio show.
Asked by Ingraham about other potential GOP candidates for president, Cornyn said, “I like a lot of the names that are being mentioned. Chris Christie, Paul Ryan.” Christie is the governor of New Jersey.
Cornyn said he hasn’t talked with Ryan about getting in the race.
“I tried to get him to run for the Senate,” Cornyn said of Ryan’s decision not to run for the Senate in Wisconsin, “not president, but he is one of our stars, he would be great.”
Both Ryan and Christie have repeatedly asserted that they are not running for president in 2012. But earlier this week, Karl Rove, George W. Bush’s deputy chief of staff, said he thinks Ryan and Christie are taking the prospect seriously.
The Weekly Standard’s Stephen F. Hayes reported that Ryan, vacationing in Colorado this week, is discussing with his family the possibility of a run.
But a Ryan spokesman downplayed the speculation: “While grateful for the continued support and encouragement,” Conor Sweeney told Hayes, “Chairman Ryan has not changed his mind.”