Jim Cole/AP Photo

Derry, N.H.- Paul Ryan pitched his ticket to voters in this swing state saying they have an "enormous responsibility" and an "enormous opportunity" to help his ticket to victory in November.

"A handful of states will settle this. You understand it. You're the Granite state. You've had presidential candidates in your kitchens," Ryan said at a high school here, reprising a line he also used in the first caucus state of Iowa. "You're used to this, but that's why you know the responsibility you have. You have a responsibility to talk to your fellow citizens, to get those people that like the promise of hope and change four years ago, but are demoralized now."

In an NBC News/Wall Street Journal/Marist poll from last week had Barack Obama leading Romney 51 percent to 44 percent.

Accompanied by his wife, Janna, he thanked "Granite staters" preemptively for "sending Mitt Romney to the White House and Barack Obama back to Chicago."

"It' s so great to be back here," Ryan said. "This is a beautiful place, a beautiful state."

The state also has sentimental value for Romney because he has a summer home in Wolfeboro, N.H. and has spent so much time in the state. He even launched his presidential bid here in June of last year at a farm in Stratham, N.H. He returned to the same farm in April to officially kick off his general election candidacy.

Ryan personalized his visit to the state telling the crowd of about 700 that his sister, Janet Rock, lives "right over the border in Boston" and noting she works for Dunkin Brands, owner of Dunkin Donuts, a New England staple that has spread all over the country.

This is one of the first times his sister has joined Ryan on the campaign trail, although his older brother Tobin is often by his side on the road.

The GOP vice presidential nominee spent Friday in Boston, attending meetings at the Romney campaign headquarters and attending his first joint fundraiser with Mitt Romney in a Boston suburb.

Saturday evening he will speak at a gala for hunters and other sportsman in another crucial battleground state: Ohio.