ASHLAND, Va. (WTVR) - The newly formed Republican ticket of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan rallied with voters at Randolph Macon College in Ashland, Va. The Saturday afternoon "victory rally" was part of Romney's bus tour through Virginia.
The Ashland stop was one of three scheduled for Virginia Saturday.
During the first stop in Norfolk, Romney officially announced U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his running mate in the presidential race.
"We won't duck the tough issues, we will lead!," Ryan told a cheering crowd on the battleship USS Wisconsin. "We won't blame others, we will take responsibility. We won't replace our founding principles, we will reapply them."
After leaving Norfolk, the Romney campaign bus stopped at the New Kent County rest area along Interstate 64 where, according to a pool report, Romney and Ryan got off the campaign bus and chatted with Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell.
The pool reporter noted bystanders looked on and snapped pictures.
“Is Paul Ryan in there, too?” one man asked. Told that he was, the man replied, “You got the whole show.”
The next stop on the Romney bus tour was a small business called Homemades by Suzanne in Ashland. Romney paid $34 for three pies - apple - pecan and chocolate chess - at the store, according to CBS 6 reporter Jerrita Patterson.
A large crowd of supporters greeted Romney and Ryan outside the restaurant. A much smaller group of protestors set up across the Ashland train tracks to express their support for President Obama, U.S. Senate candidate Tim Kaine and other Democrats.
After a 15-minute stop, Romney and Ryan continued to Randolph Macon College where the candidates spoke to a crowd of thousands at a campaign victory rally.
The Virginia bus tour was scheduled to conclude at a similar victory rally in Manassas, Virginia.
(The CNN wire contributed to this report)
