The 2012 GOP Veepstakes Brackets: Intro & Round One

Menzies House U.S. Politics Editor Amir Iljazi begins his Veepstakes Tournament for the 2012 GOP Presidential Ticket

Let there be no doubt now… with the primary win in Wisconsin, former Massachusetts Governor and everlasting frontrunner Mitt Romney will be the GOP Presidential Nominee and he will have the necessary delegates in just a mere weeks time. Though the race is not officially settled, it really is for all intensive purposes over. We now move to the General Election phase of the 2012 contest and a very important decision looms for Mr. Romney, as he will need to select a running mate to join him on the trail to take on President Obama and Vice President Biden. There has been a ballyhoo of names that have been offered up accompanied with interesting debate about who would be the best fit to run with Mr. Romney.  I’d like to share my own thoughts with the readers of Menzies House but to do so in a different way than just a few simple paragraphs.


Romney has a number of VP options to choose from

In the spirit of the USA’s College Basketball March Madness Championship Tournament where teams are pitted into brackets and then matched up against one-another, I have decided to create a Veepstakes 2012 Bracket and over the next several weeks will showcase matchups between potential Vice Presidential nominees.

The Brackets are divided into two sets of 16, and each week there will be a new post analyzing the matchups, and picking whom will advance until there is only one choice left. This is all purely speculation, and I welcome all comments and opinions on this topic because nobody will know the answer until Mr. Romney decides to tell the world. Now lets take a look at the brackets and matchups for this inaugural post in the series!

ROUND 1 MATCHUPS (REGION A) 

#1 Sen. Marco Rubio vs #16 Rep. Michele Bachmann
Senator Rubio is on the top of everyone’s list for VP, maybe even Obama’s at this point, while Bachmann has been quiet lately… winner, Rubio

#2 Gov. Bob McDonnell vs #15 Jeb Bush
McDonnell’s state may be the must win for each side in November, while Jeb Bush seems all but determined to minimize involvement in 2012… winner, McDonnell

#3 Sen. Rand Paul vs #14 Gov. John Kasich
Paul is a Tea Party leader who may bring along some of his father’s support, Governor Kasich is from the all important state of Ohio… winner, Paul

#4 Sen. Jon Kyl vs #13 Sarah Palin
Kyl is retiring from the Senate this year and fits the “Biden/Cheney” model; Palin still seems to think she can jump in for the nod… winner, Kyl

#5 Tim Pawlenty vs #12 Gov. Louis Fortuno
Pawlenty ran against Romney for about a week (not really) then dropped out, and endorsed him; Fortuno is Puerto Rico’s popular Governor… winner, Fortuno 

#6 Gov. Bobby Jindal vs #11 Rep. Mike Pence
Jindal is Louisiana’s Governor who sat 2012 out, Pence is a firebrand conservative who also sat this cycle out, each brings a great deal to the table… winner, Jindal

#7 Sen. Scott Brown vs #10 Haley Barbour
Brown may be too moderate to match with Romney, while Barbour is well respected by conservatives across the GOP spectrum… winner, Barbour 

#8 Sen. John Thune vs #9 Condoleezza Rice
Thune was seen as a possible contender in 2012 but never ran and endorsed Romney, Rice has been seen as a “game changing” upset pick… winner, Thune

ROUND 1 MATCHUPS (REGION B) 

#1 Rep. Paul Ryan vs #16 Gov. Rick Perry
This is really no contest as we learned once Rick Perry showed up to the Presidential debates…. winner, Ryan

#2 Gov. Chris Christie vs #15 Meg Whitman
Both have been on the Romney team for months, but Chris Christie actually won his bid for Governor in a Blue Sate… winner, Christie

#3 Sen. Rob Portman vs #14 Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rodgers
Portman has heavy fiscal policy experience, he’s a Senator from a swing state and his credentials on policy outmatch the WA Congresswoman… winner, Portman

#4 Gov. Susana Martinez vs #13 Sen. Pat Toomey
The first Female Hispanic Governor in US History is seen as a dark horse candidate to join the 2012 ticket, Toomey hails from a Swing State… winner, Martinez
UPDATE*** Gov. Martinez has publicly stated she will not accept the VP nomination citing specific family obligations, normally I would let this slip but this is a solid denial, Toomey advances. 

#5 Gov. Mitch Daniels vs #12 Gov. Scott Walker
Daniels declined to run for the top spot and is now quietly being talked about as a solid choice for VP, Walker is fighting a recall… winner, Daniels

#6 Rick Santorum vs #11 Sen. Jim DeMint
Santorum is spiraling downhill as he continues to run and lose, DeMint is a conservative hero and has praised Romney many times… winner, DeMint

#7 Rep. Allen West vs #10 Sen. Kelly Ayotte
West has been a rock star in the GOP as he rarely hesitates to speak his mind; Ayotte is a newly elected Senator who is far more reserved… winner, West

#8 Rep. Ron Paul vs #9 Newt Gingrich
The two are still officially in the race but it is clear one will be staying in longer and that will be the one with stronger case to be on the ticket… winner, Paul

I hope you all have enjoyed this introduction! Now here is a preview of the next 8 matchups for the Sweet 16 of the 2012 Veepstakes. Feel free to discuss below in the comments section who you think will prevail and move on to the Elite 8 in the next post.

REGION A

#1 Marco Rubio vs #8 John Thune
#2 Bob McDonnell vs #10 Haley Barbour
#3 Rand Paul vs #6 Bobby Jindal
#4 Jon Kyl vs #12 Louis Fortuno

REGION B

#1 Paul Ryan vs #8 Ron Paul
#2 Chris Christie vs #7 Allen West
#3 Rob Portman vs #11 Jim DeMint
#5 Mitch Daniels vs #13 Pat Toomey (UPDATED**)

Amir Iljazi is the U.S. Politics Editor of Menzies House. He earned his Master's Degree in Political Science at American University in Washington, D.C. and currently resides in Tampa, Florida. Before relocating back to Florida, he specialized in longitudinal campaign tracking and voter trends for Federal Races nationwide while working for a Washington DC based center-right political advocacy organisation. You may follow him on Twitter@Michi83

Comments

[oldskool]

1.

Christie has been an early and loyal ally to Romney.

my guess is Christie or Paul Ryan

Romney need to etch-a-scetch into economy now

[PaulW]

2.

you can't have two moderate north easterners on the ticket and that would be remove Christie from consideration. While he has stood up the the education unions in NJ the rest of his policies would and do bother the rest of the conservative base.

[PaulW]

3.

Also after Palin (who did have more experience then the whole democratic ticket in 2008) and the way she was portrayed by the media Rommney can't pick someone that is too new, so that would rule out people like, Rubio, West and paul

[Amir]

4.

oldskool thanks for reading, I always appreciate your input on my posts!

PaulW, some very interesting points, and I will be getting more detailed in my analysis as the field narrows down... I will say this, much of this may depend on what the race is looking like the moment before the convention. That could play a major role in which way Romney decides to go, I will get into that down to the road though.

Thanks again for reading and the feedback!

[PaulW]

5.

Here is someone else you may need to consider

blogs.cbn.com/thebrodyfile/archive/2012/04/04/romneys-perfect-vp-pick-mike-huckabee.aspx

[Amir]

6.

Paul W,

I thought about adding him in with the 32... but there is ZERO chance he will be asked. Mike Huckabee is seen as more liberal than Romney in some circle of the GOP on a number of issues (i.e. Immigration, Taxes) so he would not be a helpful choice to those who have misgivings about him.

[oldskool]

7.

Rubio has a pretentious arrogance about him evn down to his very late endorsement of Romney

I think Rubio blieves himself to be president in waiting- another career aspiring career politician moulded and groomed- much like Obama

[Tim]

8.

I think you have given Condi Rice too little credit. She ticks off many correct boxes for conservatives. She is a G.W. Bush loyalist, for one, yet is removed enough from the Bush legacy that she wouldn't be seen as his doppelganger. She wins on the minority front, both with women and other minorities. She is an intellectual, and plays well on the national front. She has both national security and foreign policy experience, something Romney lacks. That's an awful lot of boxes. The real quesiton is, would she run?

[Amir]

9.

Condi has ZERO political experience, that's extremely important when being part of a national campaign... that's why she doesn't make it past the first round. Also, there's something to be said about being the contender that Van Jones recommends :)