Who would Romney pick as a running mate?

[IceSpear]

Ryan. Romney probably sincerely believes he ran a perfect campaign and did everything right, and it was all the dumb voters' fault for his loss, and now he probably thinks they've "learned their lesson" and will right their wrongs by electing him in a landslide.

[IceSpear]

Romney, if he runs, will already be the twice failed retread presidential candidate. Romney/Ryan 2016 would be a foolish proposition. Ryan doesn't bring much to the table, and has other plans for himself already. He wasn't a great campaigner, nor debater. Also, nobody was excited about Paul Ryan who wasn't already excited about Mitt Romney. He satisfies the same branch of the party, and even looks like he could be one of the Romney kids. He'd probably say yes if asked, but I doubt Romney asks him. I say Ryan stays in the house until 2022, when he either challenges Ron Kind for the Senate (assuming he wins Ron Johnson's seat in 2016) or runs for governor (if Walker becomes president in 2016 or 2020 and Rebecca Kleefisch loses in 2018).

Romney will irritate a lot of people simply by getting into the race. H doesn't do well with self identified very conservative voters, minorities, women, or young people. His vice presidential pick, should he be the nominee, will likely be someone who keeps his supporters satisfied, while appealing to one of the above groups. There are four likely choices in my opinion.

Marco Rubio- Marco Rubio could be seen as a polar opposite in terms of style to Mitt Romney. He's young, he knows how to talk to young voters, he's Latino, he speaks fluent Spanish, and he could probably deliver Florida. He pissed off a lot of conservatives with his immigration bill, but immigration is the issue in which very conservative voters most identify with Romney. Romney's stance would likely alleviate some of the concerns of the anti-illegal immigration crowd. If he runs for president in 2016 and loses the nomination, he'll also be looking for a job, since he can't run for senate simultaneously.

Scott Walker- Scott Walker is the one candidate who I feel appeals to the broadest base of Republicans of those being talked about in 2016. If he wins re-election in 2014, he will have won three elections in a purple state in 4 years. He has much more appeal to blue collar workers than someone like Mitt, and is a fantastic politician. He's a boring white guy, which won't help, but he's got a fantastic record and would help with Romney's conservative credentials. Blue collar appeal, mid-westerner, purple state governor, conservative fan base, and universal admiration in the Republican party makes Walker a likely choice.

Carly Fiorina- She's been talked about on this forum, and been dismissed by a lot of people on here, but I think that's a mistake. Carly Fiorina is making a name for herself fighting the war-on-women narrative that was so effective in 2012. Yes, she has only run for office once and she was beaten in a landslide, but in all fairness, she was running against Barbara Boxer in California. Fiorina is pretty clearly trying to position herself for a place in the next Republican administration. I suspect that she'll run for president with no expectation of winning, but with a hope of being looked at for VP, or a cabinet post. If Romney chose her, he would be doubling down on the business part of his resume, while aligning himself with a breast cancer surviving, former CEO of a Fortune 500 company who has been out there speaking to women for years.

Susana Martinez- She's not a favorite of conservatives, but she's a woman of Mexican descent, and a popular governor of a blue state. I think Romney will ask her, but I think she'll decline to be considered, as she did in 2012. If I remember correctly, she called his "self deportation" idea offensive. That's not the words of someone who has any interest in being a vice presidential consideration. Martinez will be governor of New Mexico as long as she keeps running for re-election. She doesn't need to take the first promotion she's offered. She's more likely to take the VP spot from a governor who she likes more (Walker, Christie, Pence or Jindal) or run herself in 2020 or 2024.

A wild card would be Chris Christie. Romney/Christie would excite moderates, and may help with independents, but Romney already does fine with these groups. The only reason I'd consider him a wild card is that he was Romney's first choice in 2012, according to Mark Halperin's book Double Down, and it was only after Christie's convention speech when he was passed over. Romney may give him another look in 2016, depending on how the primaries go.

Didn't Romney already pick Ryan as his VP long before Christie's convention speech? I remember hearing he didn't pick Christie because he found some skeletons in his closet during the vetting process.