Cong. Paul Ryan has cash advantage over challenger

JANESVILLE (AP) -- U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan has a sizable cash advantage over the Democrat who hopes to challenge him this fall.

Ryan's campaign says the Republican incumbent raised just under $500,000 in the final quarter of last year. He brought in nearly $2.5 million for the calendar year and entered 2012 with $4.6 million in cash on hand.

Those figures dwarf the numbers of Rob Zerban, his likely challenger. The campaign for the small-business owner and Kenosha County supervisor reports raising $514,000 for all of 2011. That includes about $220,000 in the fourth quarter.

Zerban spokesman Tyler Norkus says the Democrat has about $304,000 in cash on hand.

Ryan will be running for an eighth term. He won his last five elections with at least 63 percent of the vote.