RACINE – Rob Zerban, the Democratic challenger to U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., along with about a dozen supporters delivered thousands of petition signatures to Ryan’s Racine office Tuesday with a message.

“Protect Medicare now,” stated one of the signs a Zerban supporter held while walking between the county Democratic Party’s Downtown campaign headquarters, 606 Sixth St., and Ryan’s office, which is just a few blocks east on Sixth Street.

Zerban, who is planning to run against Ryan in November, said, “Many people around the country feel the need to protect Medicare in its current form and oppose Ryan’s efforts to privatize it and make it into a voucher program.”

The petitions were delivered a week after Ryan, the chairman of the House Budget Committee who represents Racine County, presented his proposed 2013 federal budget called The Path to Prosperity, which includes plans to change the Medicare system.

Ryan is the chairman of the House Budget Committee and represents Racine County in Congress.