LAKELAND, Fla. – Paul Ryan dismissed claims Friday afternoon that he is not being properly utilized on the campaign trail as Mitt Romney’s running mate.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a major advocate of Ryan being tapped as VP, told a Milwaukee radio host earlier in the day the Romney campaign needs “to use him [Ryan] out on the trail more effectively, they need to have more of him rub off on Mitt.”

Ryan said he disagrees with the claims made by his fellow Cheesehead, saying he is “absolutely” being utilized enough.

“Oh, he [Walker] is just a good backer of mine. I feel really good about it [his role]. Look, I am doing the things I want to do,” Ryan said inside “Walker’s Produce” -- a local fruit stand. “Look at what we are doing, we are talking to local people, going around the country talking to local press. I am excited about my role. I feel very comfortable with it.”

The quick stop outside of Tampa came just a couple hours after the GOP presidential nominee released his complete 2011 taxes – something Republicans and Democrats alike have been pressuring Romney to do for some time. Romney paid more than $1.9 million in taxes on income of about $13.7 million and donated about $4 million to charity, although he only claimed a deduction of about $2.25 million from those donations, according to the campaign.

Bill Haber / AP

Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, R-Wis., appears at an AARP convention Friday in New Orleans.

Ryan reacted to Romney’s “unique” tax situation.

"I think that what this shows is that the Romneys are extremely generous people,” he told reporters. “They gave away 30 percent of their income to charity so Mitt Romney has always believed to whom much is given, much is required and he is living proof of that and this just shows you how generous the Romneys are as people."

The seven-term Wisconsin congressman, who walked thru the outdoor market in the Sunshine State with his 78-year-old mom, Betty, who is a Florida resident, held his only public event earlier in the day when he addressed the AARP convention in New Orleans. Ryan received a very unfriendly welcome by the crowd but it was nothing he didn’t expect.

“Entitlement reform has unfortunately been made very partisan by partisans and so I have gotten that kind of reaction and unfortunately it's what we've come to expect because the politics of reforming entitlements has become very bitter,” he said before heading to attend private fundraiser in the area. “It's very unfortunate because if we let the politics get the best of us-- these problems are going to get out of our control. We've got to fix Medicare before it goes bankrupt."

According to the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Thursday, the Romney-Ryan ticket trails President Barack Obama in terms of how voters believe each ticket would deal with Medicare: 47 percent of voters surveyed believe Obama would better deal with the program compared to just 37 percent who believer Romney would handle it better.

J. Scott Applewhite / AP

Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Paul Ryan’s got a friend in Bobby Jindal.

Jindal, governor of Louisiana, told an audience of conservative activists on Saturday that presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney would send a “powerful message” on budgetary issues were he to choose Ryan, Wisconsin’s U.S. House representative, as his running mate.

The remarks came as Jindal – a buzzed-about veep prospect himself – wrapped up a keynote address to the Red State Gathering in Jacksonville, an annual conference of Tea Party and other conservative activist groups.

"I think picking somebody like a Paul Ryan would send a very powerful message that this administration was serious about Medicare reform, entitlement reform, shrinking the size of government, and doing so in a courageous way," Jindal said of a Romney presidency.

Ryan is chairman of the House Budget Committee and the author of a controversial plan that Democrats have attacked over its cuts to federal entitlement programs. 

Romney, who won Ryan’s endorsement in March, has spoken favorably of the plan, pleasing conservatives who have helped to make Ryan’s name a nationwide brand.

Still, some at the conference here clearly had another veepstaker in mind.

“I was going to God bless you and pray that our nominee has you and your first lady on the list to be vice president,” an audience member said as Jindal took questions.

Jindal, brushing aside the compliment, responded that he has a “bias” toward the executive experience earned by governors, before adding that Ryan is an exception to that rule.

Asked later if he was making an endorsement of a Romney-Ryan ticket, Jindal said no.

“It’s certainly not my place to be making endorsements. I mean, it’s really up to Governor Romney to pick who he wants,” Jindal told NBC News.  “I just think Paul Ryan brings a lot to the table.”

“Paul's a friend.  Paul's been a great leader. I think he’s an example of a great choice,” Jindal added later.  “I think there are several other examples of great candidates out there as well.”

Jindal earlier told the crowd that he also admired Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Texas Gov. Rick Perry– whom Jindal backed for president during the Republican primaries.

Perry, who dropped out of the race in January, announced for president at last year’s Red State Gathering, held in Charleston, S.C.

Sean Gardner / REUTERS

Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum signs placards as he greets supporters at a Get Out The Vote rally in Mandeville, Louisiana March 21, 2012.

Updated 10:10 p.m. ET - Rick Santorum’s campaign netted a victory Saturday night in Louisiana, where he won that state’s GOP primary by a significant margin. The win sparks hope of a campaign rebound, following Santorum’s lopsided losses to Mitt Romney in the Illinois and Puerto Rico primaries.

The former Massachusetts governor finished second and Newt Gingrich third in Saturday's contest.

The political terrain in Louisiana was favorable to the former Pennsylvania senator. Saturday’s vote was limited to Republicans only, making the electorate more conservative.

Exit polls from Louisiana showed Santorum dominating with voters labeling themselves as "very conservative." He also fared very well with those identifying as born-again or evangelical Christian.

"I'm not running as a conservative candidate for president," he said in Wisconsin following his Saturday victory, "I am the conservative candidate for president."

He vowed to press on, saying, "We're still here, we're still fighting."

Of the GOP pack, Santorum had campaigned most aggressively in Louisiana. Twenty of the state’s 46 delegates are stake, with NBC counting 10 for Santorum and five for Romney as of 10:45 p.m. ET.

Check out NBC's full Louisiana results here

Any netted delegates by Santorum might assist in eroding Romney’s advantage. But more importantly, a Santorum win would hit pause on the former Massachusetts governor's ability to grab a stranglehold on the race to the nomination. 

For their parts, Romney and Gingrich had worked to lower expectations heading into the contest. Gingrich said he expected to finish third, but vowed to continue his campaign in hopes that Romney fails to win the 1,144 delegates needed to secure the nomination.

Romney barely campaigned in Louisiana, but may still pick up some delegates as a result of the primary, due in part to the state’s allocation rules.

Delegates are allocated proportionally to candidates based on their share of the vote, unless they finish fewer than 25 percent. All of the votes for candidates receiving less than 25 percent will go toward delegates designated as uncommitted, and won’t be reallocated to candidates who did receive 25 percent or more of the primary vote.

Louisiana’s additional delegates will be allocated at a state convention in June. In their battle for delegates, though, each candidate has had to work to overcome gaffes that have beset their campaigns.

Romney’s rivals seized earlier this week on an aide’s comment likening the former Massachusetts governor’s hopeful pivot to the general election to erasing an Etch A Sketch. Santorum and Gingrich each showed up to events in Louisiana with the children’s toy in tow, hoping to stoke concerns among primary voters that Romney would abandon his conservatism if nominated.

Check out NBC's full Louisiana results here

But Santorum and Gingrich each had to deal with their own missteps that threatened to disrupt their momentum ahead of Saturday's contest. Santorum was forced to backtrack on a statement he made on Thursday, when he appeared to suggest that voters were better off with President Barack Obama than Romney, whom he labeled an “Etch A Sketch Republican.”

Both Romney and Gingrich pounced, prompting this statement from Santorum on Friday: “I would never vote for Barack Obama over any Republican and to suggest otherwise is preposterous, This is just another attempt by the Romney Campaign to distort and distract the media and voters from the unshakeable fact that many of Romney's policies mirror Barack Obama's.”

Eric Gay / AP

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum fiddles with an Etch A Sketch as he speaks to USAA employees during a campaign stop Thursday in San Antonio.

And Gingrich, who faces mounting calls for his withdrawal from the race, on Friday suggested that the president’s behavior only fuels suspicions that Obama is a Muslim -- treading on controversial territory that includes conspiracy theories about Obama’s religion and birthplace.

The Louisiana primary still largely serves, though, as a precursor to the April 3 primary in Wisconsin and the April 24 primary in Santorum’s native state of Pennsylvania.

Both are seen as must-win contests for Santorum in order to block Romney from winning the nomination; major tests of the former Pennsylvania senator's overall staying power in the campaign.

Msnbc.com’s Kara Kearns contributed to this report.