Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is heading back to New Hampshire for the first time since the 2012 election, NBC News has confirmed.
Last year's Republican vice presidential nominee will return to the Granite State in early October to attend a campaign event supporting Republican former U.S Rep. Frank Guinta, who is expected to try and reclaim next year the House seat he lost in the 2012 election.
While Guinta was in office, he served on the House Budget Committee, chaired by Ryan. The two are friends, according to a source, and Ryan “likes him personally.” At one campaign stop in Manchester, N.H., last August, while running for vice president, Ryan described Guinta as “capable and conscientious.”
President Barack Obama strongly beat Republican nominee Mitt Romney in New Hampshire last fall, winning the state 52 to 46 percent -- even though Romney maintains a residence in Wolfeboro.
While trips to early primary states tend to gin up buzz for potential 2016 presidential contenders, which Ryan may be, one New Hampshire Republican party member says that “It doesn't seem like there is any other motive behind the trip beyond just trying to help out one of his friends.”