Pairing with an extreme running mate helps moderatepresidential candidates to appeal to more voters

In the 2012 presidential election the Republican Party nominee, Mitt Romney, was considered by many to be a moderate. So why, then, did he choose the more ideologically extreme Congressman, Paul Ryan, to be his vice-Presidential running mate? In new research, Thomas P Krumel Jr and Ali Enami argue that a moderate presidential candidate may look to someone farther to their right or left in order to expand their voting base, and thus shift the view of the median voter to the right, thus helping them to gain more votes.