August 14, 2012 07:15 PM UTC

Republicans Worry About Ryan Effect on House, Senate

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• by: Colorado Pols

We’ve discussed at length the selection of Rep. Paul Ryan as Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s running mate. But there is another side to Ryan’s selection, and it has some Republicans concerned about the fallout. From The Hill:

Republicans strategists are worried that Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) addition to the presidential ticket will cost their party House and Senate seats this fall.

Their concern: Democrats will successfully demonize Ryan’s budget plan, which contains controversial spending cuts and changes to Medicare.

“There are a lot races that are close to the line we’re not going to win now because they’re going to battle out who’s going to kill grandma first, ObamaCare or Paul Ryan’s budget,” said one Republican strategist who works on congressional races. “It could put the Senate out of reach. In the House it puts a bunch of races in play that would have otherwise been safe. … It remains to be seen how much damage this causes, but my first blush is this is not good.”

Many Republicans in tough races this year, especially in the House, voted for Ryan’s proposal, which makes it hard for them to distance themselves from it.

Democratic challengers such as Joe Miklosi have already spent months trying to pin the Ryan budget on their opponents, and turning the national spotlight to the Wisconsin Representative only makes that effort easier.