ho will be Mitt Romney’s running mate?
With the Republican presidential hopeful closing in on the GOP nomination, attention is beginning to turn to who he will pick to be by his side as he takes on President Obama and Vice President Biden for the White House.
Could it be Sen. Marco Rubio, a Hispanic conservative from the swing state of Florida? Maybe it will be Chris Christie, the bombastic governor from New Jersey unafraid to speak his mind? Or could it be a total dark horse candidate, say Gov. Susana Martinez from New Mexico, another conservative Hispanic from a swing state?
According to Larry Sabato, the director for the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, Romney has two ways to go with his decision.
“He can pick someone who is safe and follows the Hippocratic oath’s mandate, ‘First, do no harm,’” Sabato told CBSDC. “This person would be seen as competent but wouldn’t necessarily have any impact on the Electoral College or appealing to specific demographic groups where Romney is weak, or Romney can pick someone designed to deliver a state, region, or demographic group.”
With that certain demographic group primarily focusing on Hispanics, Seton Motley, president of Less Government — a political thinktank, sees that spot going to Rubio.
“This is all a game of checking off something you don’t have,” Motley told CBSDC. “Rubio is Hispanic and is from the swing state of Florida. The list almost begins and ends with Rubio.”
Rubio – who has thrown his support behind Romney – has been a favorite among conservatives in his short time in the Senate, but that lack of experience could hurt his chances of getting put on the ticket.
“If this individual is relatively inexperienced or has not been fully vetted, there can always be unexpected problems that turn into a major distraction for the presidential nominee,” Sabato said.
Even if Rubio is picked, there are no guarantees he could deliver the state to Romney.
Rubio has previously stated he is not looking to the vice presidential nomination.
Conservatives have fallen over party favorite Chris Christie, who was called on many times to jump into the presidential fray. Christie decided not to, instead throwing his support behind Romney, too. Christie might not be the best bet to be by Romney’s side, though.
There has been much talk about Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal getting the nod, which would make him the first Indian-American to be vice presidential candidate. But others to keep an eye on are Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez.
Romney also needs to make sure that the VP candidate he chooses doesn’t become a distraction, the same way Sarah Palin was to Sen. John McCain in 2008.
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4 Responses
1. Only a pro-immigration policy (even if it doesn’t apply to illegal immigrants), that welcomes upwardly mobile hard working laborers, as well as affluent and hoping to get rich PhD’s, will make it possible to get Hispanic votes.
2. Romney needs a Tea Party person who won’t alienate the rest of the country (Jindahl maybe, Rand Paul perhaps, Eric Cantor definitely, perhaps Paul Ryan) Romney needs Santorum’s and Paul’s supporters (though he can “cherry pick” Paul’s platform to find parts that have broad appeal and skip the parts that don’t).
Conservatives are NOT for Christy!!!!! No way!!!!!
If he wants to make peace with conservatives & the rest of the party, he MUST pick Rubio.
The question is what’s in it for Rubio. He’s got a promising Senate career in front of him; why would he want to give that up to be vice president?
#3- Rubio wouldn’t need to give up his Senate seat to run for Vice-President. If Romney won, Rubio is the immediate front runner for 2020.
#2- Any conservative with broad appeal would do (Rubio, also Cantor, perhaps Sen. Graham from South Carolina, Gov. Jindahl from Louisiana). Being polite, competent and non-charismatic might be a selling point for the Republicans this year (as in “let’s have four boring years – we’ve had too much excitement lately). Unless a candidate would alienate conservates so bad they stay home, Romney would only benefit from a Tea Party favorite if the person has a broader appeal.