The day after her husband stepped into the national spotlight joining the Republican presidential ticket, Janna Ryan waved, smiled and shook hands. But she did not speak.
Paul Ryan’s wife is carefully taking her first steps into the harsh spotlight that comes with a run for the White House.
A former tax attorney and congressional staffer with degrees from Wellesley College and George Washington University, Janna Ryan is accustomed to the rigors of political life. But as adoring crowds of Republicans turn out to see her husband, the stages Janna will stand on are bigger than ever.
Rep. Dan Boren (D-Okla.), a cousin, said she “will be Paul’s strongest supporter on the campaign trail.” In recent interviews, a chorus of neighbors and friends have called her “ladylike,” “rocket smart” and “sweet and wonderful.”
After a dozen years as a congressional wife, Janna is undoubtedly accustomed to the duties of a political spouse. When Paul Ryan traveled to Park City, Utah, earlier this year for fundraising events for Mitt Romney and congressional candidate Mia Love, Janna tagged along. She met the governor and posed for the standard shake-and-grin pictures, but she also pulled her husband aside for a photo of the two of them with their backs to the mountains.
Both she and Paul Ryan are Catholics who were introduced by a mutual friend in Washington in 1999. Their year-long courtship included a mutual love of the great outdoors, and Paul Ryan bragged to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter, who wrote a story about their engagement, that the then-Janna Little had shared a deer stand with him when he shot a buck as hunting season opened. He proposed to Little at one of his favorite fishing spots, Big St. Germain Lake in Wisconsin.
Ryan was 30 and Little 31 when they announced their engagement, which the Journal Sentinel reported would deprive “Congress of one of its more eligible bachelors.”
The Ryans settled in his home town of Janesville, surrounded by his large extended family. There Janna became a stay-at-home mom raising their three school-age children, Liza, Charlie and Sam.
“Janna and I grew up together and I couldn’t be more proud of my cousin,” Boren said in a statement, also praising Paul Ryan despite their political differences. “Like my late mother after whom she is named, Janna is a wonderful parent to their children.”
Paul and Janna Ryan are both from wealthy, well-connected families. His owns a construction company that has been in the family for more than a century. Hers has deep roots in Oklahoma politics where her uncle, David Boren, is the state’s former Democratic governor and now president of the University of Oklahoma. Her great-grandfather also ran for governor and started a law firm in town where her father still works, according to the Daily Oklahoman.
Her father, Dan Little, also served on the University of Oklahoma board of regents and her late mother, Prudence, was involved in civic life, serving on the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. The value of the trust that Prudence Little left her daughter, which ranges between $1 million and $5 million, according to Ryan’s financial disclosure statement, is one of the family’s largest assets.
The couple often visits Oklahoma, where the new vice presidential candidate enjoys the life of an outdoorsman. According to the state political blog CapitolBeatOK, Ryan joked during a speech in the state that he and the family visit “three times a year — deer season, duck season and turkey season.” For some reason, he said, “Janna refers to our visits as Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving.”
In photos pulled from Paul Ryan’s Facebook page they are the picture of a happy family, wearing matching Green Bay Packers sweatshirts. At this point, Janna Ryan is content to stay in the background for as long as possible.
After Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan spoke at a rally in North Carolina on Saturday, Romney offered the microphone to his wife, Ann, who rallied the crowd, telling them, “We’re not gonna take it anymore! We’re gonna take back the White House!”
Mitt Romney then offered the microphone to Janna, who politely declined.
“You sure?” he asked.
Despite her silence, Janna Ryan has already gained a few fans. Ohio University sophomore Matt McKnight launched JannaRyan.com to show his support.
“My first impression is that she is an intelligent woman with a smart husband and a beautiful family,” McKnight said in an e-mail. “I have not had the chance to hear her speak yet, but I look forward to hearing her soon.”
Staff writer Philip Rucker in Mooresville, N.C., contributed to this report.
Paul Ryan’s wife is carefully taking her first steps into the harsh spotlight that comes with a run for the White House.
A former tax attorney and congressional staffer with degrees from Wellesley College and George Washington University, Janna Ryan is accustomed to the rigors of political life. But as adoring crowds of Republicans turn out to see her husband, the stages Janna will stand on are bigger than ever.
Rep. Dan Boren (D-Okla.), a cousin, said she “will be Paul’s strongest supporter on the campaign trail.” In recent interviews, a chorus of neighbors and friends have called her “ladylike,” “rocket smart” and “sweet and wonderful.”
After a dozen years as a congressional wife, Janna is undoubtedly accustomed to the duties of a political spouse. When Paul Ryan traveled to Park City, Utah, earlier this year for fundraising events for Mitt Romney and congressional candidate Mia Love, Janna tagged along. She met the governor and posed for the standard shake-and-grin pictures, but she also pulled her husband aside for a photo of the two of them with their backs to the mountains.
Both she and Paul Ryan are Catholics who were introduced by a mutual friend in Washington in 1999. Their year-long courtship included a mutual love of the great outdoors, and Paul Ryan bragged to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter, who wrote a story about their engagement, that the then-Janna Little had shared a deer stand with him when he shot a buck as hunting season opened. He proposed to Little at one of his favorite fishing spots, Big St. Germain Lake in Wisconsin.
Ryan was 30 and Little 31 when they announced their engagement, which the Journal Sentinel reported would deprive “Congress of one of its more eligible bachelors.”
The Ryans settled in his home town of Janesville, surrounded by his large extended family. There Janna became a stay-at-home mom raising their three school-age children, Liza, Charlie and Sam.
“Janna and I grew up together and I couldn’t be more proud of my cousin,” Boren said in a statement, also praising Paul Ryan despite their political differences. “Like my late mother after whom she is named, Janna is a wonderful parent to their children.”
Paul and Janna Ryan are both from wealthy, well-connected families. His owns a construction company that has been in the family for more than a century. Hers has deep roots in Oklahoma politics where her uncle, David Boren, is the state’s former Democratic governor and now president of the University of Oklahoma. Her great-grandfather also ran for governor and started a law firm in town where her father still works, according to the Daily Oklahoman.
Her father, Dan Little, also served on the University of Oklahoma board of regents and her late mother, Prudence, was involved in civic life, serving on the Oklahoma Ethics Commission. The value of the trust that Prudence Little left her daughter, which ranges between $1 million and $5 million, according to Ryan’s financial disclosure statement, is one of the family’s largest assets.
The couple often visits Oklahoma, where the new vice presidential candidate enjoys the life of an outdoorsman. According to the state political blog CapitolBeatOK, Ryan joked during a speech in the state that he and the family visit “three times a year — deer season, duck season and turkey season.” For some reason, he said, “Janna refers to our visits as Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving.”
In photos pulled from Paul Ryan’s Facebook page they are the picture of a happy family, wearing matching Green Bay Packers sweatshirts. At this point, Janna Ryan is content to stay in the background for as long as possible.
After Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan spoke at a rally in North Carolina on Saturday, Romney offered the microphone to his wife, Ann, who rallied the crowd, telling them, “We’re not gonna take it anymore! We’re gonna take back the White House!”
Mitt Romney then offered the microphone to Janna, who politely declined.
“You sure?” he asked.
Despite her silence, Janna Ryan has already gained a few fans. Ohio University sophomore Matt McKnight launched JannaRyan.com to show his support.
“My first impression is that she is an intelligent woman with a smart husband and a beautiful family,” McKnight said in an e-mail. “I have not had the chance to hear her speak yet, but I look forward to hearing her soon.”
Staff writer Philip Rucker in Mooresville, N.C., contributed to this report.