Ryan was defeating businessman Paul Nehlen by an 85-15 margin as of late Tuesday evening.
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Polls are open in Wisconsin where voters are making decisions in a primary election.
The race managed to draw national media attention following Trump’s initial hesitation to endorse Ryan – using similar language to what Ryan had said ahead of his endorsement in June, saying he “wasn’t quite ready” to get behind the incumbent.
Ryan said: “I heard about this Second Amendment quote”.
The show of appreciation will be important for the 47-year-old, shortly before the Wisconsin Republican primary on 9 August. Trump relented just three days later after coming under criticism from GOP leaders, but the burst of publicity was priceless for Nehlen. Since Ryan endorsed Trump, he has denounced Trump for a number of comments the GOP nominee has made.
Ryan and Trump have clashed before, most recently when Ryan defended the gold star Khan family, who engaged in a back-and-forth with Trump after their appearance at the Democratic National Convention.
Ryan had described Nehlen’s campaign as an out-of-state effort being bankrolled by “scam-PACs” selling a “nasty virulent strain of something” that’s not conservatism. As it turned out, that positive rating nearly perfectly predicted Ryan’s share of the primary vote Tuesday.
An expected walkover for the country’s highest-ranking Republican officeholder had became one to watch Tuesday, with Ryan seeking to avoid the most shocking and unlikely of upsets against a political unknown hoping for a Trump bump. During the campaign, Ryan mostly ignored the upstart Nehlen, who was largely an afterthought until recently, when Trump praised him.
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Ryan has said he needed to speak out on occasion to keep people from mistakenly believing all Republicans’ views are similar to Trump’s. He attracted the support of some anti-establishment figures on the right, including 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and commentator Ann Coulter. Trump did not come up other than Ryan’s mention of him as it relates to trade. If you would like to discuss another topic, look for a relevant article.
