When will McCain choose a running mate?

[M]

I suspect that the Democrats will have a nominee first.

[Nym90]

After the Democrats not only have a nominee for President but for Vice President as well. No point in choosing anyone earlier than that.

[MODU]

Nym's probably close.  He won't tap anyone until it is near the time for the convention, and all the primaries are done with.

[Mr. Morden]

After the Democrats not only have a nominee for President but for Vice President as well. No point in choosing anyone earlier than that.

Agreed.  In every single election, there are rumors that the presidential nominee will pick his running mate unusually early, but it never happens.  Kerry picked Edwards about 3 weeks before the convention.  Every other running mate selection in recent cycles has actually come much closer to the convention, usually just a few days before.  McCain presumably won't pick someone until the Democratic ticket is settled.  That way, he can react to whomever he's running against.

Also, it takes an awfully long time to vet all the possibilities and so forth, so neither party's nominee would be likely to be ready to pick a VP until several months from now anyway.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

It would be foolish to think that he's not down to a short list and that his choice is not dependent on who the democratic nominee will be.

[Gustaf]

He has to wait for the Democratic nominee. Obama and Clinton would be so different as opponents that he has to know who he's up against. Obama would threaten him in the traditional swing states and the places where he hopes to make inroads (Colorado, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, New Hampshire, etc) whereas Clinton would be a threat in lean GOP states like Missouri or West Virginia. So he has to appeal to different groups. I suspect shoring up the evangelical base will be more important if it's Clinton than if it is Obama. If it's Obama the focus would be not to turn away swing voters. Basically, Huckabee would be really bad as a chocice if it's Obama and less bad if it's Clinton. And so on.

[MODU]

It would be foolish to think that he's not down to a short list and that his choice is not dependent on who the democratic nominee will be.

I'm sure he does have one, but he won't choose until later in the game.

[Mr. Morden]

It would be foolish to think that he's not down to a short list and that his choice is not dependent on who the democratic nominee will be.

It's still too early for there to be a short list.  I'm sure his campaign has a *long* list of possibilities, that they're going to go through one by one to see who would be the best choice.  Remember, the campaign would have just recently transitioned its focus from the primaries to the GE.

[Kaine for Senate '18]

After we decide on our nominee.  That way, he can determine who is best to counter us.

[True Democrat]

What if the Democrats go to the convention?

[Mr. Morden]

What if the Democrats go to the convention?

Then they'll probably have a big celebration there in which there are a bunch of speakers who talk about how great the party is, and they'll also nominate a presidential and vice presidential candidate.

[WalterMitty]

the vetting process is very long these days.  although i suspect  mccain has started it.

the earliest he could possibly announce a choice would be 2-3 months.  but i dont expect an announcement until summer.

[Duke 🇺🇸]

Here's my wild card:

http://wral.com/news/state/story/2420392/

I still think it may be Rudy, but my dad's girlfriend is very close with Burr's wife, and she has gone from saying that there's no way she'd be the VP to not being so defensive when asked. She still denies it, but is softening her tone.

I don't see Sanford as being the VP simply because I don't believe that he wants to leave SC. I could be wrong, but word around here says that he doesn't want to go into another election and he has said many times his 2006 reelection campaign was going to be his last, win or lose.