Who would Romney pick as a running mate?

[Mister Mets]

If Romney runs for President again, he'll have to pick a running mate, and this choice will be compared to his selection the last time around.

We could look at Dewey, Stevenson, Nixon and Reagan for precedent.

Dewey chose the same type of running mate he had before, opting for an older Governor (and former AG) of California four years after picking a slightly older Governor (and former AG) of Ohio.

Stevenson picked another southern Senator. It was a different situation in that his 1956 running mate had run against him in 1952, and he had left the decision of the Veep nominee up to the DNC delegates.

In 1960, Nixon picked an older former Senator with foreign policy experience. In 1968, Nixon ran as the foreign policy expert, so his running mate was a newly elected Governor.

Reagan had announced a moderate Pennsylvania Senator as his running mate in 1976, during the deadlocked convention that opted to go with Ford. In 1980s, Reagan's initial plan had been to offer President Ford the nomination, but he eventually settled on primary runner-up George HW Bush.

It's a small sample set, but it does seem that nominees prefer to do something big when selecting potential Veeps the second time around. Though it could all be for moot if a candidate who provides balance to the ticket finishes a strong second in the primary (think John Edwards in 2004) becoming the obvious choice. Otherwise, he could pick a newcomer or someone elected to statewide office in 2010 (with the explanation that they weren't ready in the '12 cycle.) I can't see him going with someone who would have been an obvious choice in '12 (IE- Pawlenty, Portman.)

[Mister Mets]

According to Ryan, part of Romney's rationale for picking him was the way his experience complemented what was needed for a presidency focuses on economic matters.

Romney claimed he knew economics, how business worked and how to manage large organizations.
Ryan was familiar with how Washington worked.

So he might pick a veep who complements him somehow, someone who knows Washington or foreign policy.

Or he could just go with whoever might swing a key state.

[Mister Mets]

Nikki Haley seems like a good choice. She's on the verge of getting reelected big, so she'll be qualified as a second-term Governor. A younger brown woman would add diversity to a ticket with the old white guy. And she has a small business background that could add to Romney's positives.

She won't help with Washington, but that's what a Chief of Staff is for.