GOP official: Romney picks Ryan for VP

NORFOLK, Va. -- Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has picked Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan to be his running mate, according to a Republican with knowledge of the development. They will appear together Saturday in Norfolk, Va., at the start of a four-state bus tour to introduce the newly minted GOP ticket.

In a statement issued Friday night, Romney's campaign would say only that the running mate would be revealed at 9 a.m. at the Nauticus Museum.

On Thursday, Romney fueled the buzz around Ryan, telling NBC that he wants a vice president with "a vision for the country."

Several Republicans took that as an indication that Ryan had shot to the top of a short list said to include Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Neither had plans to be in Virginia on Saturday.

Ryan, 42, is viewed by some in the Republican Party as a bridge between the buttoned-up GOP establishment and a riled-up tea party movement. As the chairman of the House Budget Committee, Ryan could help Romney make the argument that only the GOP ticket knows how to turn around a nation in the midst of a sluggish economic recovery.