Romney, Ryan lead Dayton rally

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - Republican vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan led a crowd in an “O-H I-O” chant as he took to the stage Tuesday afternoon at a campaign event at the Dayton International Airport.

Ryan and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and made the stop as part of a three-day bus tour of the state.

Ryan introduced Romney as “the man who will fix things.” The vice-presidential candidate pointed out what he described as failed economic practices by President Barack Obama.

“We cannot afford four more years of President Obama’s failed policies,” Ryan said.

He went on to describe Romney as someone who has “proven policies to get the country back on track,” and as a successful man.

“He has not only succeeded, he has succeeded where others could not,” Ryan said

Romney addressed the crowd pointing out the ways he differs from Obama.

“This is a president bent on growing government. I’m bent on growing jobs and raising take home pay,” he said.

The presidential hopeful went on to outline his priorities including improving the country’s trade position.

“China has cheated I will not allow it to continue,” Romney said forcefully. He described how the Chinese government manipulates the value of its national currency, condones the counterfeiting of American goods and steals intellectual property. He went on to explain how Chinese hackers made their way into American networks and looked at the designs for the F-35 aircraft.

“We cannot compete with people who do not play fair and I will not let that go on,” Romney said, “I will stop it in its tracks.”

Following his speech Romney mingled with his supporters at the airport before climbing onto his bus to continue a statewide bus tour.

Ohio is a battleground state in the 2012 election year and could very well determine the winner of the presidential election. Both Romney and Obama have made several stops in the Buckeye State hoping to win over voters.

Romney and Ryan started their day in Cincinnati Tuesday after Romney attended a private fundraiser Monday night in the Dayton area.

President Barack Obama is also in Ohio. He'll be in Bowling Green and Kent on Wednesday.