Washington (CNN) - Who should Mitt Romney choose as his running mate?
According to a new national poll, there's no consensus among Republicans. But a CNN/ORC International survey released Wednesday does indicate there's an ideological split that could put pressure on Romney, the all but certain GOP presidential nominee, as he tries to make his decision.
Full results (PDF)
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The poll asked Republicans and independents who lean towards the GOP to choose from eight names who could be among the two dozen or so potential running mates that the Romney campaign may be considering as the vice presidential nominee.
According to the survey, Condoleezza Rice is on top of the list. Twenty-six percent questioned said they would like to see Rice, who served as national security adviser and later as secretary of state under President George W. Bush, as the Republican vice presidential nominee. In second place in the survey, at 21%, was Rick Santorum, who was Romney's chief rival for the nomination until early last week, when the former senator from Pennsylvania suspended his campaign for the White House.
Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were each at 14%, with House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin at 8%, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal at 5%, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell at 1% and Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio at less than one half of one percent.
"Name recognition is the key," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Rice and Santorum are best known and they top the overall wish list."
But split out self-described supporters of the tea party movement and a different picture emerges.
The poll indicates that Rubio, at 22%, and Christie, at 18%, top the list of tea party supporters, with Rice and Santorum dropping into a tie for third place.
According to the survey, among Republicans who say they aren't supporters of the tea party, 36% say Rice is their choice to be Romney's running mate, with one in four saying they'd like Santorum as the GOP vice presidential nominee. Christie barely cracks double digits and Rubio is in single digits among non tea party supporters.
Why don't Rubio and Christie do better among non tea party supporters?
"Once again, it's all a matter of name recognition," says Holland. "Two-thirds of tea party Republicans are familiar with Rubio and virtually all of them have a favorable view of him; six in ten Republicans who do not support the tea party have little or no idea who Rubio is. Christie's numbers among tea party supporters are even higher - three-quarters of them have a favorable view of the New Jersey governor and only one in five are unfamiliar with him; nearly six in ten Republicans who don't support the tea party don't have an opinion of Christie."
The poll indicates that the other names on the list, such as Jindal, McDonnell, and Portman, are unknown quantities to tea party supporters and other Republicans alike. It goes without saying, however, that the presidential nominee is unlikely to put his running-mate choice to a vote, so Romney's opinion is probably the only one that will count in the end.
The CNN poll was conducted by ORC International from April 13-15, with 473 Republicans and independents who lean towards the GOP questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.
Also see:
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Romney campaign 'bracketing' aims to 'step on president's message'
Dems, Republicans make their picks in election to replace Giffords
From CNN Politics
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The first three would make Romney look good. Which of course makes them a disaster. And Cristie would probably
never accept to report to Romney. And he would be right.
Gee, no consensus among the GOP about a VP?
Didn't see that one coming....they all seem to get along so well.
Better go with Condi so you can say that you like women AND black folks.
How about $arah Paylin again, maybe she'd take the pay cut to save the country.
Pick whoever you like Mitty, it won't matter.
Seamus the dog says Obama / Biden in 2012
Warren in 2016
Christie? Have you ever seen pictures of Christie and his new state helicopter? The Big Apple is not a pretty site.
They don't even have a nominee and you want to start picking a vp..??????
Most of them will turn him down. The ones that have already said no, know what's coming and they all have way to many skeletons in their closet to accept the VP slot. After the Palin fiasco, not many Repubs will want to go through that kind of scrutiny. Obama already has a fully vetted VP and could find another one in Hilliary, which I think would be a death blow to the GOP's chances.
Christie.... just to see him smash Biden during the debate. The guy is ready for action Romney. Twist his arm!
Rice would be a great choice politically and with respect to issues. Romney-Rice 2012 !
Lets' see, here are their choices: a smart, but politically poisoness former Sec. of State, who agrees with torture; a guy who thinks he is either the pope or Chriust; a guy who lies about his own family history for political gain, and finally, a bombastic, rude, loud-mouthed behemoth who will not listen to anyone who disagrees with him. Great choices GOP!
Nah mitt will go whole hog clutching the 3rd rail and pick Ryan!
I hope condi dont be a fool again. These ppl hate black ppl please dont get used again.
Listen, we know from the last election cycle that you just need to choose someone with a loud mouth. And who thinks seeing another country from their door step is foreign policy experience.
I think I'll still take Dr. Ron Paul and whomever he chooses as VP.
HOW IS THIS BREAKING NEWS, WORTHY OF A MASS BROADCAST?? I value the CNN breaking news emails for SIGNIFICANT events, but a change in the polls is not breaking! Triage what you send out...I would hate to have to leave this service because of a barrage of poll number changes. COMMON SENSE, CNN!!
This group of losers looks worse than the ones they had for president. Please God, no Santorum. Is Rubio sane? Condy just wants an excuse to buy more shoes. The NJ guv has a lot of baggage.
How about Alfred E Neuman? He fits right in with the republican heavy thinkers.
It does not matter who he picks. it is going to be a losing ticket in November anyway.
Ahh, Condi. The token black woman of the GOP. Nothing too hollow and obvious about that pick.
condeleez rice? VP? LMAO NO, please. lol
im so glad this romney guy has no chance.
Lets see how long it takes for them to argee. Has to be either black woman or cuban guy. Romney needs both demigraphics. The repos will let condi be vp just not president. Obama 2012 Move forward
Why on earth would anyone think that the Republicans could agree on anything – other than they want President Obama out of office. I am not a youngster, and this is the most ridiculous attempt at a presidential race I've ever seen. These clowns are pathetic. None of the above will make any difference because President Obama will win another term.
As for Christie – he shouldn't be allowed to be dog catcher. He's nothing but a big (emphasis added) Bully and should not be anywhere near a presidential position.
is there ANYTHING this current GOP is not divided on? The Tea Party helped destroy a once proud party...and I'm not even a Republican. The only thing it seems that they all agree on is beating Obama in 2012.
Where's Newt???? Maybe we can start a new game – Where's Newt and how many checks has he bounced this week.
How about Ted Nugent?
Romney/Gonzo 2012 – Greedy and Crazy, What a Combo!
Another CNN poll ... about as useless as a Fox news poll
I think Rice might actually be a strong choice. She has enough of a positive image that it would be hard for people to claim they are just pandering to the women or minority vote by choosing her.
Santorum is too much of a relgious nut, and Christie is just plain obnoxious.
I'm glad Bob McDonnell is polling as low as he is. He's a stupid social conservative yes man who's been destroying my state fiscally, but taking credit for all the accomplishments that are thanks to our last governor. As soon as he's out of office he deserves to be totally forgotten by everybody.