State Representative Mike McLane has been following the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. He was especially impressed with Paul Ryan's speech on Wednesday night.

McLane believes the speech also connected with voters in his district and elsewhere.

"We are gonna get a bump and my hope is that Paul Ryan's addition to the ticket will have an impact in emphasizing the 'math' of the budget.  That's really Paul Ryan's forte'.  He's been called the 'intellectual Republican'.  But his speech emphasized that math is not Republican or Democrat...it's not conservative or liberal, it's just math and the math doesn't add up."

McLane says he's talked to many Central Oregon voters who are concerned about runaway federal and state spending. 

"The concern clearly is about the ability of our government at all levels to fund essential services and make sure our kids have the tools they need to succeed.  People are very concerned about what has been - frankly- fiscal irresponsibility at the federal level and it has leaked down to all levels."

As a new leader in the Republican Party he says he hopes to make a big difference next session in tackling some of the tough fiscal issues in Salem.  He also wants to keep the focus on expanding OSU-Cascades to a four year University.

McLane was a guest on 1110 KBND's "Your Town" at 8:40 Thursday morning.