First Read - Ryan endorses Romney From his home state of Wisconsin, Rep. Paul Ryan endorsed Mitt Romney ahead of Tuesday's primary there. He said Romney "is the best person to be president" and "best person to beat" President Obama. "Mitt Romney is clearly that person," he said this morning on Fox and Friends. He said he "spent a good deal of time with Romney" and "I am convinced Mitt Romney has the skills, principle, courage, and tenacity to do what it takes to get American back on track." He also stressed that the "primary could enter a phase when it becomes counterproductive if this drags on much longer." He added that he hasn't been able to touch base with Rick Santorum yet, will do so later today, but the point he would make to him, Ryan said -- after spending the last six months figuring out what it takes to run and fund a presidential campaign -- is that he's "convinced if this drags out into the summer, it's just going to make it tougher to beat Barack Obama. The more we drag it out, the harder it is to beat" Obama. He said conservatives need to "coalesce." Ryan has for the past six months led the Republican National Committee's presidential fundraising efforts as head of the RNC's Presidential Trust.