Does the GOP nominee really need to pick a woman or minority for a running mate?

[Mister Mets]

Of course not. Susanna Martinez can pick a white guy for her Veep.

The serious answer is that it's not essential, but it is advantageous, especially when there's likely to be a decent bench to choose from.

But it could turn out that a ticket with two white guys works best due to the unique circumstances of the election two years from now.

[Mister Mets]

I am strongly opposed to affirmative action nominees.

The bench of potential minority running mates is pretty strong, so it's possible that a white guy will lose on the merits.

But there are other factors than merit that have counted in the past.

It helped Paul Ryan that he was young and from the Rust Belt. When he was under consideration, a factor in Portman's favor was that he was from Ohio.

Geraldine Ferraro is remembered as a botched attempt at pandering, but part of the rationale behind selecting Eagleton was that he was Catholic.

It's odd how there's opposition to particular types of affirmative action in politics (based on gender, ethnicity and race) but no one cares if it's based on region.