In Search for Female Running Mate, a Shortlist for Romney
I’m not going to waste my time, or yours, speculating about whether Condoleezza Rice might become Mitt Romney’s running mate when there is no credible reporting to that effect.
But it does seem as though the days when the four candidates on the major-party tickets are all men will be coming to an end, and soon. Sarah Palin gave women a shot at shattering the glass ceiling four years ago. If Mr. Romney wanted to pick a woman this year, whom might he choose?
Actually, Mr. Romney has a bit of a problem. The Republican women with the most traditional qualifications for the vice presidency tend to be moderates, especially on abortion choice, probably making them unacceptable to the Republican base. Another group of up-and-coming female governors and senators may not be adequately seasoned for the rigors of the campaign trail. The few exceptions are probably too old, or too controversial, to be smart choices with swing voters. It has nothing to do with their gender, but any of the women that Mr. Romney might choose would be at least a little risky.
Let’s start by drawing up a “long list” of potential candidates. The qualifications for this are pretty straightforward. You have to be a woman, and a Republican. And you have to have served as governor or U.S. senator in the past five years, or as an alternative, have run for president before.
There are 14 women that meet these criteria. However, all 14 fall into one or more of the problematic categories that I described before.
Potentially Unacceptable to Republican Base
Senator Susan Collins of Maine
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas
Former Gov. Linda Lingle of Hawaii
Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska
Former Gov. M. Jodi Rell of Connecticut
Senator Olympia J. Snowe of Maine
The six women on this list have generally supported abortion choice — some mostly so, and some more emphatically. That could make them unacceptable options to many Republican base voters, and to many of the delegates at the Republican National Convention, especially since Mr. Romney’s history of varied positions on abortion makes him
You can read the rest of this article at:: http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/in-search-for-female-running-mate-a-short-list-for-romney/
Short URL: http://thepresidency.us/?p=18227
Posted by RobertButler
on Jul 13 2012. Filed under 2012 Presidential Campaign.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0.
You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
