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Saturday, August 11, 2012

Romney to Announce Running Mate Saturday

By JEFF ZELENY

Mitt Romney is scheduled to announce his vice presidential candidate on Saturday in Norfolk, Va., ending a four-month search for a running mate on the opening day of a four-day bus tour through four critical battleground states.

Mr. Romney is set to disclose the selection at 8:45 a.m. as he tours the U.S.S. Wisconsin, the campaign announced Friday evening. The choice of the location was curious, given that Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, chairman of the House Budget Committee, was among the finalists for the position.

Two top advisers to Mr. Romney declined to provide more details late Friday, saying that Mr. Romney valued the secretive process that has been carried out throughout the four-mont h search for a running mate. One senior Republican close to the selection process said that the U.S.S. Wisconsin was picked intentionally by the Romney campaign.

Mr. Romney and his running mate are scheduled to travel to North Carolina, Florida and Ohio in the coming days on an introduction tour leading up to the Republican convention at the end of the month in Florida.