Who are the Not Romney -> Romney/Rice voters?

[cavalcade]

From PPP on Twitter: "Condi's favorability rate in Pennsylvania is 60/27 and she nets Romney 6 points on Obama."  She polls well elsewhere too apparently.

Are these voters suburban whites who don't like Obama's record but don't want to think of themselves as racist for voting against him?

Are they general moderates who think Romney's too conservative?

Are they single issue "war on women" voters?

Are they moderate African-Americans?

Are they conservatives who will stay home unless Romney picks a Bush figure they've heard of?

This matters because the VP likely won't be Rice, but in theory any Romney/Rice voter is a reachable Romney voter depending on the VP pick and how Romney positions his campaign.

[krazen1211]

PPP is trying to push a junk narrative.

[Del Tachi]

I figure "security moms" may be partially to blame here.  Upper-middle class, suburban married women in their 30's and 40's with children living at home who are conscious of the threats posed by terrorists or other foreign nations.  They may like Rice because like themselves, she's a woman, and she is strong on national security issues that they care about.  

Looking around the world, it does look more unstable than it did at the end of Bush's second term.  Europe is on the verge of an economic crash and the situation in the Middle East remains "highly fluid" to say the very best.  Maybe there is something to running a competent campaign on national security/foreign affairs issues this election cycle.

[stegosaurus]

Rice probably does have some independent appeal, being pro-choice and a non-politician. It would be a great pick if she would take it, which she wouldn't.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

I think it's more of the moderates who've been turned off by the Santorum-types. An intellectual woman who is obviously qualified would be a breath of fresh air to a lot of people, especially when one looks at the alienating effects of Sarah Palin.

[stegosaurus]

I think it's more of the moderates who've been turned off by the Santorum-types. An intellectual woman who is obviously qualified would be a breath of fresh air to a lot of people, especially when one looks at the alienating effects of Sarah Palin.

That's a good point as well. Compared to the recent slew of awful, megaconservative female politicos (Palin, Bachmann, O'Donnell, etc), Rice looks like Margaret Thatcher - definitely bait for the centrist/independent types who care about electing people on the basis of silly things like race and gender.

[Lief 🗽]

PPP is trying to push a junk narrative.

Plenty of polls show that Rice would give Romney the greatest immediate boost. Stop being a dumb.

[California8429]

You think the PPP Pennsylvania jump was big, look at the polling numbers in Michigan. Jesus, I don't care if the poll is an outlier, they are still polling the same people before and after Rice's name is on the ticket.

It's not like people didn't know she was Secretary of State for Bush and that Bush initiated the Iraq war. The public is dumb, but they know who Rice is and if they really were pissed about Bush then they wouldn't swing to Romney with her on the ticket.

Romney and Myers need to more seriously consider her.

Only Pawlenty shifts numbers in Pennsylvania, but barely. The only reason T-Paw is on the list is because of his story, Romney thinks his story can move the blue collar reagan democrats into his column. Well according to the polling, Rice is going to be doing a better job at that. T-Paw won't hurt Romney, but Rice is a name that can actually swing the election for the ticket.

People really don't vote for Vice Presidents, but that certainly doesn't seem like the case for Rice.

[fezzyfestoon]

I think she's a trendy pick among the middle aged. They think they're being interesting or something. Or even some sort of independent.

[Paul Kemp]

What about conservatives and libertarians that think Romney is not conservative or small government enough (we are a bigger number than you think)

And how exactly does a former Secretary of State with no domestic experience persuade this block?

[Small Business Owner of Any Repute]

Not Romney -> Romney/Rice voters are moderate Republicans / GOP-leaning indies who gladly voted for Reagan, supported Gov. Corbett, but are increasingly wary about the way the GOP looks on the national stage. Typically females.

[Ljube]

I think Rice wouldn't turn off anyone. Social conservatives protesting would have no choice but to vote for Romney anyway or suffer four more years of Obama.

Some moderate voters might be swayed, particularly women, African Americans and security and foreign policy conscious voters.

An additional plus is that it would be very difficult for the MSM or the Democrats to attack Rice for fear they may be branded racists.

[Simfan34]

The Simfans, maybe. But it won't happen, unfortunately.