2012 Republican Party vice presidential candidate selection

On May 29, 2012, former Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts won the 2012 nomination by the Republican Party for President of the United States, and became the presumptive nominee of the party.^[1][2] On August 11, 2012, Romney officially announced his selection of Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan as his running mate to supporters via an iPhone app, though the selection of Ryan had already leaked to the press hours before the official announcement.^[3] Ryan was the first individual from Wisconsin to appear on a national ticket of a major party as a nominee either for President or Vice President of the United States, although third-party presidential candidate Robert M. La Follette won 16% of the popular vote in the 1924 election.^[4] The Romney–Ryan ticket ultimately lost to the Obama–Biden ticket in the 2012 presidential election.

2012 Republican vice presidential nomination

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Nominee Paul Ryan Home state Wisconsin

Previous Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan

Selection process

Romney asked Beth Meyers, an aide, to head up the search team for selecting a vice presidential candidate.^[5] It was speculated that Romney might announce his running mate in July to create early enthusiasm and boost fundraising,^[6] but this proved untrue. Romney stated that he would select a pro-life vice presidential candidate.^[7]

Political analyst Larry Sabato stated that Romney could pick a vice presidential running mate that would help electorally such as by delivering a swing state or a demographic group.^[8][9] Romney's associates suggested the VP pick was likely to be someone mild-mannered with high integrity and have a similar aptitude for analysis.^[10]

Short list

According to the book Double Down, Romney's campaign narrowed down his list of potential nominees for vice president to eleven individuals in April 2012:^[11]

• 
  Senator
  Kelly Ayotte
  from New Hampshire
  (2011–2017)
• 
  Governor
  Chris Christie
  from New Jersey
  (2010–2018)
• 
  Senator
  John Cornyn
  from Texas
  (2002–present)
• 
  Governor
  Mitch Daniels
  from Indiana
  (2005–2013)
• 
  Former Senator
  Bill Frist
  from Tennessee
  (1995–2007)
• 
  Former Governor
  Mike Huckabee
  from Arkansas
  (1996–2007)
• 
  Governor
  Bob McDonnell
  from Virginia
  (2010–2014)
• 
  Former Governor
  Tim Pawlenty
  from Minnesota
  (2003–2011)
• 
  Senator
  Rob Portman
  from Ohio
  (2011–2023)
• 
  Senator
  Marco Rubio
  from Florida
  (2011–present)
• 
  Representative
  Paul Ryan
  from Wisconsin
  (1999–2019)

The list was later further narrowed down to five individuals: Christie, Pawlenty, Portman, Rubio, and Ryan.^[12] According to Double Down, many on Romney's campaign favored Ryan because he was "young, telegenic, Irish Catholic, with blue collar appeal," and could potentially help the campaign in his competitive home state. Romney also personally liked Ryan and felt comfortable campaigning with him. Christie was also strongly considered, but the vetting process raised several issues.^[11]

The announcement

Having returned from his overseas tour of the United Kingdom, Israel, and Poland, Romney planned a bus tour of Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida with his then-yet to be announced running mate.^[13] It was possible that Romney could have chosen to stall his announcement until at least August 12, the last day of the Summer Olympics, in order to attract greater media and voter attention while still allowing time for campaigning and fundraising before the Republican National Convention, which would begin on August 27.^[14]

On August 10, 2012, it was announced that Romney would introduce his running mate on August 11, 2012, in Norfolk, Virginia, after touring the USS Wisconsin,^{[15][16][17][18]} leading several news sources to speculate that his choice would be U.S. Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.^[19] Shortly after 7 a.m. on August 11, the Romney campaign officially announced Ryan as its choice for vice president through its mobile app titled "Mitt's VP".^[20]

Media speculation on possible vice presidential candidates

Political analyst Larry Sabato stated that Romney could pick a vice presidential running mate that would help electorally such as by delivering a swing state or a demographic group.^[8][9] Romney's associates suggested the VP pick was likely to be someone mild-mannered with high integrity and have a similar aptitude for analysis.^[10] Media speculation and analysis on vice presidential picks included:

Members of Congress

• 
  Senator
  Jim DeMint
  of South Carolina
  (2005–2013)^[21][22]
• 
  Senator
  Rand Paul
  of Kentucky
  (2011–present)^[23][24]
• 
  Former Senator
  Rick Santorum
  of Pennsylvania
  (1995–2007)^[25]
• 
  Senator
  John Thune
  of South Dakota
  (2005–present)^[26]
• 
  Senator
  Pat Toomey
  of Pennsylvania
  (2011–2023)^[27]

Governors

• 
  Jeb Bush
  of Florida
  (1999–2007)^[28]
• 
  Nikki Haley
  of South Carolina
  (2011–2017)^[29]
• 
  Bobby Jindal
  of Louisiana
  (2008–2016)^[30]
• 
  John Kasich
  of Ohio
  (2011–2019)^[31]
• 
  Susana Martinez
  of New Mexico
  (2011–2019)^[32]
• 
  Brian Sandoval
  of Nevada
  (2011–2019)^[33]
• 
  Rick Snyder
  of Michigan
  (2011–2019)^{[34][35][36][37]}

Others

• 
  CIA Director
  David Petraeus
  ^[38]
• 
  Businessman
  Donald Trump
  of New York^[39][40][41]

See also

• Mitt Romney 2012 presidential campaign
• 2012 Republican Party presidential candidates
• 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries
• 2012 Republican National Convention
• 2012 United States presidential election
• List of United States major party presidential tickets

References

1. Romney Finally Gets His Title: Presumptive Republican Nominee Archived April 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.National Journal. April 11, 2012.
2. "Romney hits 'magic number' for GOP nomination". CNN. May 30, 2012.
3. Rucker, Philip; Helderman, Rosalind S. (August 12, 2012). "Gallery". The Washington Post.
4. Ryan joins host of Wisconsin politicians in U.S. limelight Archived December 8, 2012, at archive.today (August 11, 2012), Wisconsin State-Journal.
5. Mitt Romney begins vice presidential selection process Archived April 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine.The State Column. April 16, 2012.
6. "Romney Might Unveil VP Pick Early". June 4, 2012.
7. Gray, Kathleen (February 22, 2012) Mitt Romney peppered with questions at Michigan plant.Detroit Free Press
8. Higgins, Matthew L. (April 3, 2012).Let The Vetting Begin: Attention Turning to Romneys potential VP Candidate.CBS News.
9. Mitt Romney's possible running mates Archived April 19, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. Xfinity News, Comcast.net April 2012.
10. Shroeder, Peter (April 25, 2012).Romney will pick mini-Mitt for VP, his Bain Capital hires suggest Archived April 28, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
11. Halperin, Mark (November 2, 2013). "The Hunt for Pufferfish: A Double Down Excerpt". Time. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
12. Sean Sullivan and Philip Rucker (October 31, 2013). "Obama's advisers considered replacing Biden with Clinton, according to book". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 1, 2013.
13. "Romney begins "blue state" bus tour". CBS.com. Retrieved July 30, 2024.
14. "Romney campaign releases app to alert supporters of VP pick". Boston Globe. July 31, 2012.
15. "From Boston to Janesville". National Review. August 10, 2012.
16. "Breaking: Mitt Romney announcing VP pick at the USS Wisconsin". August 10, 2012.
17. "Mitt Romney to announce his VP pick on Saturday - ABC News". ABC News.
18. Zeleny, Jeff; Barbaro, Michael (August 10, 2012). "Romney to Announce Running Mate Saturday". The New York Times.
19. "Weekly Standard: It's looking like Ryan - POLITICO". Politico. August 10, 2012.
20. Zeleny, Jeff; Rutenberg, Jim (August 11, 2012). "Romney Adds Ryan to the Republican Ticket". The New York Times.
21. "Cain names Jim DeMint, Paul Ryan as possible 2012 vice presidential picks". The Hill. October 13, 2011.
22. James Lee (June 6, 2012). "The Case for Mitt Romney to Pick Jim DeMint for Vice President". U.S. News & World Report.
23. "Rand Paul Says 'It Would Be An Honor' if Romney Asked Him to Be VP". Archived from the original on April 28, 2012.
24. "The Rise of Rand Paul – By Robert Costa – The Corner – National Review Online". National Review. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
25. Madison, Lucy (March 26, 2012).Santorum keeps door open for vice presidential bid.CBS News
26. "Ellis: Keep eye on Thune for vice president".
27. .Washington Post
28. "Veepstakes speculation: A guide". Politico.Com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
29. "Romney's VP 'tryouts' hit the stage".^{[permanent dead link]}
30. Barabak, Mark Z. (August 5, 2012). "Romney's potential running mate: Bobby Jindal". Los Angeles Times.
31. VP Longlist Archived 20 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine. May 17, 2012, American Spectator.
32. Cillizza, Chris (April 10, 2012). "Susana Martinez: I will not be vice president". The Washington Post.
33. "Would a Latino running mate help Romney, Republicans?". CNN. June 2, 2012.
34. Could Gov. Snyder be Mitt Romney's Pick for Vice President? Archived September 25, 2018, at the Wayback Machine. Fox News Channel, May 4, 2012.
35. Decker, Brett M. (April 18, 2012).DECKER: Romney’s Snyder example.Washington Times.
36. White, Joseph (October 31, 2011).Michigan Governor's GOP Brand Is Distinct.Wall Street Journal online.
37. Carpenter, Mackenzie (February 20, 2011).Republicans consider early possibilities for vice president.Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved March 23, 2012
38. "Paul Miller: Petraeus as VP has potential". Monterey County Herald. Archived from the original on May 17, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2012.
39. A-Romney-Trump-presidential-ticket-could-save-our-economy.Tennessean 1/20/2012.
40. On the Record with Gretta Van Susteren (December 1, 2011).Does Trump Want to Be Vice President. Fox News Channel. Retrieved March 24, 2012.
41. Donald trumps up self as vp pick for Mitt.Boston Herald.

External links

• The Romney campaign site Archived September 20, 2012, at the Wayback Machine