5 women Romney should consider for VP

By Wendy Simmons

After John McCain’s now notoriously bad "game change" in picking Sarah Palin as his vice president in 2008, many political observers expect Mitt Romney to choose a plain-vanilla running mate (e.g., Rob Portman of Ohio) to face Obama in the fall.

However, as the GOP works hard to overcome the 19-point advantage Obama has among female voters, the Romney campaign is likely to consider choosing a woman to join him on the ticket. Let’s review five possibilities, ranging the from the most similar to Palin to the most different.

Many observers of the veepstakes have wondered if South Carolina’s young governor would be a nice fit on the Romney ticket. Nikki Haley had the strong support of the Tea Party when she was elected in 2010, beating several more well-known and experienced candidates. South Carolina is home to some of the most conservative elements of the Republican Party. If Haley joined Romney’s ticket, she might be able to generate enthusiasm among white evangelicals in particular.

The most glaring negative for Governor Haley is her similarity to Sarah Palin, who also was a young, inexperienced female governor when she joined the national ticket.

Ayotte is a fresh face and has impressive conservative credentials on two issues of particular importance to Republican voters: abortion and crime. As the Attorney General of New Hampshire, Ayotte defended the state’s right to require parental notification when a minor seeks an abortion against a challenge from Planned Parenthood, taking the case all the way to the Supreme Court. While Deputy Attorney General, she was in charge of the homicide unit, successfully prosecuting New Hampshire’s first capital murder case in 60 years.

However, Romney should consider that any young and inexperienced woman will inevitably appear similar to McCain’s disastrous choice of Palin in 2008.

Governor Martinez might be a particularly good choice for Mitt Romney because she theoretically could help his campaign reach out not only to women, but to Hispanic voters as well. Recent polling shows Obama leading Romney among Latinos by 40%. By picking a Hispanic governor from a state with a large Latino population, Romney could start mending fences with this important group and broaden his geographic appeal to Western voters.

Although Governor Martinez might help the ticket in these important areas, it's far from clear whether she could withstand the national “vetting” that a candidate for national office must undergo. This idea also might also fall victim to the Palin problem.

Kay Bailey Hutchison is known in the Senate for being pragmatic, bipartisan and pro-business. She teamed up with Democrat John Kerry in sponsoring legislation to create a national infrastructure bank.

Another plus: Senator Hutchison would not appear similar to Sarah Palin. After serving in the Senate for almost 20 years, Hutchison is well-known to Washington insiders and has plenty of experience campaigning. She also has a deep legislative background, serving on the Appropriations Committee and the Committee on Commerce, Science and Technology.

While the former National Security Advisor is adamant that she has no interest in leaving her professor position at Stanford for an encore in public life, many in the GOP are hoping she has a change of heart. According to a recent poll, Condi Rice topped the list of preferred VP candidates -- receiving the support of 26% of registered Republicans.

In addition to her popularity among Republicans, Rice would bring foreign-policy gravitas into the fold, and would allow Romney to put a woman on the ticket without inviting comparison to Sarah Palin. Rice is a well-known and well-regarded public figure.

Check out InvestorPlace for full write-ups and photos of each potential VP candidate.

The opinions contained in this column are solely those of the writer.

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