By Brendan O'Brien

MILWAUKEE (Reuters) - Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan earned a concession prize on Wednesday after he lost the national race as presidential candidate Mitt Romney's running-mate, easily reclaiming his congressional seat in Wisconsin.

While the Republican ticket of Romney and Ryan lost to President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, Ryan defeated Democratic businessman Rob Zerban in Wisconsin.

The 42-year-old Ryan represents a Wisconsin district consisting of the southeast corner of the state, including Janesville, Racine and parts of southern Milwaukee County.

Ryan will return to Congress where he has spent the last 14 years. He is chairman of the House Budget Committee.

Ryan came to prominence in 2010 by co-authoring "Young Guns: A New Generation of Conservative Leaders," a manifesto showcasing the small government "opportunity society" that he had been advocating for years to smaller audiences.

It provided a national forum for promoting Ryan's political agenda and made him a favorite of the anti-tax, limited-government Tea Party movement.

(Reporting By Brendan O'Brien; Editing by Mary Wisniewski, Greg McCune and Bernard Orr)