GOP sees campaign boost from Ryan pick

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Mitt Romney's presidential favorability has had a boost since Paul Ryan was announced as his running mate a week ago, campaign officials say.

The selection also spurred fundraising efforts that brought in more than $10 million in online donations, The Washington Post reported.

About $7.4 million of the donations came in within the first three days after Ryan, a House member from Wisconsin, was named to the ticket, campaign manager Matt Rhoades said in a memo Friday.

Rhoades said new donors represent 68 percent of the total dollars raised since Saturday.

The Romney campaign's Web site has received 2 million hits in the past week and Ryan has added 860,000 Facebook and 118,500 Twitter followers, campaign officials said.

The campaign has also added 45,000 volunteers in the past week, Rhoades said.

Democrats contend that Ryan will be more of a liability than an asset to the GOP, singling out his budget plan and his proposals to overhaul Medicare.