Ryan May Sit Out Presidential Race in Congress

Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin was the first potential Republican presidential candidate of 2016 to have to decide whether to run. He's probably opting out.

After winning re-election last night, Ryan said he would seek the chairmanship of the the House Ways and Means Committee. That post would make it exceedingly difficult for him to seek the presidency next year.

When the Republicans hold their planning session for the next Congress this month, Ryan would be the favorite to succeed Representative Dave Camp of Michigan as Ways and Means chairman. In an interview on Bloomberg Television last night Ryan said he intended to seek the job.

But Ryan also has been encouraged to go for the presidential nomination. One of the people reportedly pushing him is Mitt Romney, who selected him as his running mate in 2012. It's a wide-open race this time, the argument goes, and Ryan would be one of the favorites.

"We're going to start sorting out this presidential race quickly and Paul will be the first one," says Vin Weber, a top Republican strategist.

It's a difficult choice: No congressional committee will have a more important or fuller agenda than Ways and Means -- trade, tax reform, health care -- and Ryan is one of the foremost congressional experts on these issues. Moreover, under the current system, committee chairmen are important fundraisers for the party, and none more so than the head of Ways and Means because of the panel's wide jurisdiction over many vested interests.

A consideration for Paul, 44, is that his three children are young. A full-fledged presidential campaign, unlike his three-month quest for the vice-presidency, would demand hundreds of days away from home on the campaign trail next year.