ST. PAUL, Minn. – Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan visited an unexpected state just one week before Election Day: the traditionally Democratic-leaning Minnesota.

Although the Romney campaign was taking a break from campaigning because Superstorm Sandy – which wreaked havoc Monday along the Eastern seaboard, Ryan made two “stops” in the Twin Cities – an apparent nod that the GOP is trying to put Minnesota in play.

The Wisconsin congressman first landed at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport Tuesday afternoon, walking down the steps past the press with his wife Janna.

This quick photo opportunity for locals came as Ryan headed just across the border into Wisconsin to thank volunteers at the Hudson, Wis. Victory Center for gathering donations for hurricane victims.

“I just want to thank you all for coming together and helping put this effort together. This kind of effort is happening at victory centers around the country,” Ryan told the crowd standing amongst nonperishable foods.

Noting the mere seven days before the election, Ryan added: “I also want to thank you for helping us in this election, for working at these victory centers.”

Alex Moe / NBC News

Paul Ryan stopped by the Hudson, Wis. Victory Center on Tuesday.

Ryan, joined by his wife, brother and RNC Chairman Reince Priebus among others, stopped to grab dinner in downtown St. Paul before boarding a flight to fly back to Wisconsin – giving the press another opportunity to capture the GOP VP nominee in the state of Minnesota which awards 10 electoral votes.

"Hi guys, how are you doing?" Ryan said as he walked into O'Gara's Bar and Grill and took a seat next to his wife and other dinner guests.

President Barack Obama won Minnesota in 2008, but Romney and Ryan have not paid much attention to the state until the past several days. Many believe the GOP ticket may be trying to make inroads in Minnesota and Pennsylvania at the last minute to help Romney’s path to victory on Nov. 6.

The Democrats dispatched former President Bill Clinton to Minnesota on Tuesday – possibly acknowledging that the state could be in play next week.

"I have worked very hard in this election and I'm not running for anything," Clinton said Tuesday at the McNamara Alumni Center at the University of Minnesota, according to Minnesota Public Radio. "And that's because, notwithstanding what Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan say, I am more enthusiastic about President Barack Obama than when I campaigned for him four years ago."

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan is “shocked and saddened” by the shooting in his home state of Wisconsin that took place Sunday just two months after another mass shooting in the state.

“Janna and I were shocked and saddened by the news from Brookfield today. As our community continues to heal from August’s tragic violence, our thoughts and prayers are with today’s victims and their loved ones,” Ryan said in a statement.

Related: Three killed in shooting at Milwaukee-area salon; suspect found dead

“Our gratitude also goes to the first responders who rushed to save lives and secure the scene. We will not allow the evil responsible for this heartbreaking event to triumph over the spirit of the people of Wisconsin. I ask all Americans to keep those affected by this event in their hearts, minds, and prayers today,” he said.

At least seven people were shot and three of them killed this morning at the Azana Spa across the street from the Brookfield Square mall, according to police.

Brookfield is in the 5^th District, which Republican Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner represents.

In early August -- the week Mitt Romney tapped Ryan as his running mate -- a shooting in Oak Creek, Wis. rattled Ryan's district. Romney delayed announcing his running mate so that Ryan could attend funeral services for the seven killed at the Sikh temple outside of Milwaukee.

OWENSVILLE, OH -- By Wednesday afternoon, Paul Ryan took a harsher tone against President Barack Obama and aligned himself with his running mate, Mitt Romney, regarding the attacks on Americans in the Middle East.

“The administration sent mixed signals to those who attacked our embassy in Egypt, and mixed signals to the world. I want to be clear: It is never too early for the United States to condemn attacks on Americans, on our properties and to defend our values,” Ryan told the crowd in the battleground state of Ohio. “That’s what leadership is all about.”

The GOP vice presidential nominee continued: “This administration’s policies project weakness abroad. Undercutting allies like Israel, outreach to enemies like Iran, national security leaks and devastating defense cuts. A weak America breeds insecurity and chaos around the world. The best guarantee of peace is American strength.” 

At Ryan’s first event of the day, in his home state of Wisconsin, the seven-term congressman focused less on policy and more on the tragedy itself.

“The attacks on our diplomatic missions in Egypt and Libya and the loss of four American lives including our Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens – this is outrageous,” Ryan said in De Pere, Wis. “Our hearts are heavy and our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families and I would just like to ask at this moment that we join together in a moment of silence in memory of them.”

While at both events, Ryan promised the crowd here that a Romney-Ryan foreign policy would follow the “peace thru strength” doctrine, the event seemed to coincide with rhetoric Mitt Romney used towards Obama Wednesday morning.

Speaking at a press conference in Jacksonville, Fla. early Wednesday, Romney said the president "demonstrated a lack of clarity as to foreign policy” regarding the attacks.

“It’s their administration that spoke,” Romney told reporters at a press conference in Florida. “The president takes responsibility not just for the words that come from his mouth but also for the words that come from his ambassadors, from his administration, from his embassies, from his State Department. They clearly sent mixed messages to the world.”

President Barack Obama fired back at the GOP ticket during an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes. 

"There's a broader lesson to be learned here, and, you know, Governor Romney seems to have a tendency to shoot first and aim later. As president, one of the things I've learned is you can't do that," Obama said. "It's important for you to make sure that the statements you make are backed up by the facts, and that you thought through the ramifications before you make them."

GREEN BAY, Wisc. – Gov. Chris Christie may be one of Mitt Romney's top backers, but Tuesday he hit the campaign trail for another national Republican figure who is running a tough race with major national consequences. 

The outspoken New Jersey governor lent his support to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who is facing a historic recall election on June 5. Speaking to over 200 donors in Green Bay, Christie made no mention of the presidential contest – nor of rampant speculation that he may be in the running for the vice presidential slot – but he offered effusive praise for Walker's efforts to reform public employee unions in the state. 

"The course that he pursued here in Wisconsin tells you a great deal about this man's character," Christie said of Walker's persistence in the face of searing criticism from liberal and union groups nationwide. 

Christie painted Walker's unusual upcoming contest - Walker would be the third governor in U.S. history to be recalled from office - as a blessing in disguise for his conservative agenda and for the country.

"I think in the long run it's going to turn out to be an advantage for the Walker family," he said, noting how counter-intuitive that analysis might sound.

"I know they're going to win on June 5. I know they are. And when they do, they're going to have that rare moment for a political figure that he's done all the tough things that need to be done, the state is starting once again to move forward and he doesn't have to wait for four years to get affirmation for the course he's chosen by the people he's leading."  

Christie said the Walkers are personally close to his family, in part because of their shared experience of facing protesters and seeing their loved ones under the glare of public scrutiny.

"Our families have become friends because we understand the challenges of raising children when you're in the public eye and especially when you're doing controversial things," he said. 

(They are so close, in fact, that the New Jersey governor described his teenage daughter begging to come to the state with her father because "she likes the Walker boys," an admission that won knowing giggles from fellow parents of teenagers in the room.) 

Walker, who spoke before Christie, chalked up the recall effort to Washington special interests and labor "bosses" who fight reforms that could hurt a status quo engineered to benefit them alone. 

"There's a handful of special interests, particularly in Washington, that don't like it when we get in the way of power and money," Walker said. 

"They want a handful of big government union bosses to dictate what happens in our schools and our cities and our towns and our state governments. We want the hardworking taxpayers of our states and our communities to make that decision, and when time comes about, every time I'm going to stand with the taxpayers," Walker said. 

Both men have become conservative icons for their tough-talking focus on government efficiency, with the famously brash Christie being discussed as a possible pick for Romney's running mate. 

Christie fanned the flames of speculation Monday, when he told a group of students that he could be "convinced" by Romney to take the job. 

Tickets for the Green Bay event started at $200 per couple, with some guests paying $2,500 for a private reception with the two men. Christie also accompanied Walker to a second rally in South Milwaukee. 

About two dozen protesters greeted the two Republican governors on the street outside the convention center where the Green Bay fundraiser was held. Although most of the activists' ire was focused on Walker's controversial record on union issues, one sign needled the New Jersey governor over the departure of his state's previously Newark-based NBA team, which will move to New York next season.

"HEY Gov. Christie!" read the handwritten poster. "Go Brooklyn Nets!!"

In the upcoming Wisconsin primary, billed as perhaps the final opportunity to change the trajectory of the Republican presidential contest, frontrunner Mitt Romney leads Rick Santorum by seven percentage points, according to a new NBC News/Marist poll. But should he capture the nomination, Romney would start out as the underdog against President Barack Obama, whom Romney trails by double digits.

Frederic J. Brown / AFP - Getty Images

Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks during an event at NuVasive, a maker of devices intended to improve spinal care, in San Diego on March 26, 2012 in California.

In Wisconsin’s April 3 Republican contest, the former Massachusetts governor gets support from 40 percent of likely primary voters, including those who are undecided yet leaning toward a particular candidate. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum gets 33 percent, Texas Rep. Ron Paul gets 11 percent,  and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich gets 8 percent. Seven percent of respondents are undecided.

The poll – conducted March 26-27 – is consistent with the findings of a recent Marquette Law School survey, which found Romney leading Santorum by eight points. The Wisconsin race follows a familiar pattern: Romney holds the advantage over Santorum among liberal and moderate Republicans (43 percent to 24 percent), conservatives (42 percent to 33 percent), non-Tea Party supporters (42 percent to 31 percent), and those who earn $75,000 or more annually (47 percent to 32 percent).

Read the NBC News/Marist Poll

Meanwhile, Santorum leads among very conservative primary voters (42 percent to 33 percent), strong Tea Party supporters (40 percent to 32 percent), and evangelical Christians (40 percent to 29 percent).

So far in all the GOP contests where there has been exit polling, Romney has won in every contest where evangelical voters have accounted for less than 50 percent of the electorate. And he has lost in every contest where that number has been higher than 50 percent.

The evangelical percentage among likely Wisconsin GOP primary voters, according to the NBC/Marist poll: 41 percent.

Obama leads in the general election
Looking ahead to the general election, the survey shows Obama holding a sizable advantage over his Republican opposition in this battleground state, which he carried in 2008 but where Republicans made big gains in the 2010 midterms.

Obama leads Romney in Wisconsin among registered voters, 52 percent to 35 percent, with 13 percent undecided. And he edges Santorum, 51 percent to 38 percent, with 11 percent undecided. The poll suggests, however, that both Romney and Santorum would have room to grow in the general election, given that a substantial portion of the undecided vote leans Republican.

Benefiting Obama is growing optimism about the state of the economy (52 percent believe the worst is behind them), as well as a more negative perception of the Republican Party (48 percent say the Democratic Party does a better job in appealing to those who aren’t hard-core supporters, while just 32 percent say that about the GOP).

What’s more, there’s a significant gender gap: Obama leads Romney among women by 25 points (55 percent to 30 percent) and men by 12 points (50 percent to 38 percent). The president’s job-approval rating in Wisconsin stands at 50 percent. 

Divided over the recall
As for the recall contest of Republican Gov. Scott Walker, 46 percent of Wisconsin voters say they will support him in that race, while 48 percent indicate they’ll vote for the eventual Democratic candidate who will face off against the incumbent governor.

The approval rating for Walker – who sparked a firestorm of criticism in his effort to curb collective-bargaining rights for the state’s public-sector workers – sits at 48 percent approval, 48 percent disapproval. According to the poll, a majority of likely Republican voters say they’re following the recall more closely than the GOP presidential primary race, 51 percent to 37 percent.

The NBC/Marist poll of Wisconsin was conducted March 26-27 of 2,792 registered voters (with a margin of error of plus-minus 1.9 percentage points) and of 740 likely Republican primary voters (plus-minus 3.6 percentage points).