COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) – Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan was in western Iowa, Sunday, to urge people to vote for Mitt Romney, saying another four years of President Barack Obama will lead to higher national debt and continued economic struggle.  Ryan’s remarks came before an enthusiastic crowd of about 500 people at a campaign rally in the parking lot of an outdoor outfitter store in Council Bluffs. Later in the day, he repeated his message at a slightly smaller rally in Sioux City on the banks of the Missouri River.  Ryan says he and Romney “can get this country back on track.”

Ryan’s visit to western Iowa happened a little more than two weeks before the Nov. 6 election. The presidential campaign is focusing on Iowa and eight other battleground states.