Two years ago this week, Paul Ryan was sparring with Joe Biden during a vice presidential debate and largely ignoring his House re-election bid back home.
Not this time.
Ryan, a Republican from GOP-leaning southern Wisconsin, is debating Democratic businessman Rob Zerban on Monday. While Ryan is favored to easily win re-election, he has decided not to take voters' support for granted.
Ryan is also looking to take advantage of an opportunity to practice debating ahead of a potential 2016 presidential run.
Ryan and Zerban have faced each other on the ballot before but not during formal debates. When they ran against each other in 2012, Ryan was sprinting around the country as Mitt Romney's running mate and declined to debate Zerban.
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