Which of these noncandidates would've won more EVs than Romney did had they run?

[Mr. Morden]

Romney won 206 electoral votes.  However, there are quite a few potential candidates who declined to run.  Some of them are listed above.  Imagine each of them as having been the GOP presidential nominee in place of Romney.  Which of them (if any) would've won more than 206 electoral votes?

[tmthforu94]

I'm not sure on Daniels. I think Bush is the only one I feel comfortable about - he would have taken Florida.

[Mr. Morden]

Christie as nominee would've made for quite the dramatic final week of the campaign, given Hurricane Sandy.  That would make an interesting timeline.

[Ljube]

Christie would have won the election.
Jeb Bush would have made it much closer, possibly won.

[emailking]

Christie as nominee would've made for quite the dramatic final week of the campaign, given Hurricane Sandy.  That would make an interesting timeline.

I know what you mean and I've thought about that myself. But it's important to keep in mind that if any of those candidates had run, there wold have been no hurricane Sandy...in the same sense that if you drop a pencil right now, you've completely changed the weather 6 months from now.

There of course would have been other hurricanes and some may have hit the US, but the chance of one hitting New Jersey would be same as the long term average of such occurrences.

I've pointed this out before on the forums when some people were talking about how Kerry would have handled Katrina. And I sort of got laughed at, but it's still true.

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

Christie as nominee would've made for quite the dramatic final week of the campaign, given Hurricane Sandy.  That would make an interesting timeline.

I know what you mean and I've thought about that myself. But it's important to keep in mind that if any of those candidates had run, there wold have been no hurricane Sandy

...How? Would they have used the RepubliMagic they didn't give Romney?

"If they had run, there would not have been Hurricane Sandy, because hurricanes hitting the Northeast are unlikely." So? It happened, therefore it happened. That's just how science works.

[MyRescueKittehRocks]

Pence or DeMint would've kicked obama's tail

[LastVoter]

Bout half of them.

[The Mikado]

Given the events of the last week of the campaign and Christie's actions, I'm reasonably confident he would have won.  He generated massive amounts of goodwill for himself among people who would ordinarily hate his guts.

[ProudModerate2]

Pence or DeMint ...

The question is which candidates would have won more EV's, not less.

[Antonio the Sixth]

I'd say Bush, Christie, Daniels, Rubio and Thune. No idea who could have won, but it would have been very close. Honestly, this race was pretty winnable with a half-decent republican.

[Averroës Nix]

Christie is probably the best communicator in contemporary American politics. That's a huge advantage.

In addition to Christie, I think that it's plausible that Bush, Jindal, Daniels, or Thune could have outperformed Romney, although Bush is probably the only one of the four whom I'd actually expect to perform better.

[King]

Jeb or Christie.

None of the others would have been able to do anything in the debates.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Jeb or Christie, but no matter the nominee, they would have to carry the albatross that is the Tea Party around their necks, so I don't know if they could have won. Anytime Mittens had momentum, some news would break about X tea partier saying rape is a gift from above, etc..

[pbrower2a]

Christie? It would have been a question of desire. He would have probably self-sabotaged his campaign. He wasn't ready, and he probably had issues of health. In 2016 he is in a good spot because -- paradoxically-- Barack Obama made him look good. Slimmed down, he could be a good match for Colorado, Florida, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. With those a Republican wins the election against anyone. (Michigan is like Iowa, Minnesota, or Wisconsin except for having more African-Americans).  

Huckabee is a right-wing populist. I think he would have picked off Florida and made Virginia tighter if he didn't win it. Huckabee is a good match for Clinton-but-not-Obama voters. Jeb Bush would have likely won Florida.

I am surprised that Giuliani wasn't listed.

The others have either limited exposure, no evidence of ability to win outside the Red Firewall, or the sorts of political experience that does not put one one step away from the Presidency.

[Maxwell]

Christie and Daniels.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Romney may not have been the best candidate (either way, he was certainly in the top tier), but I think he would have made the best president out of most of the people in these lists. Like him or hate him, he's exceptionally good at sitting down with people to actually get things done.

[King]

For as low of an opinion I have of Romney, really, I think he ran a really good campaign.  It's the weakness of the Republican brand that lost it for him. 

[Wisconsin+17]

Boycotting this thread as THIS man is not on it.

[BM]

I'm 100% confident Huckabee would have won. Despite having some rather disgusting views, he's actually very likable and authentic seeming, two things that Mitt lacked and did more damage to his campaign than anything else in my opinion.

His genuinely disgusting views would have motivated the Tea Party evangelicals and bigots more as well. Sorry you're stuck with them, Republicans, but they're a major part of your coalition now. There's room for you under our big tent if you don't want to deal with them anymore

[H.E. VOLODYMYR ZELENKSYY]

I'm 100% confident Huckabee would have won. Despite having some rather disgusting views, he's actually very likable and authentic seeming, two things that Mitt lacked and did more damage to his campaign than anything else in my opinion.

His genuinely disgusting views would have motivated the Tea Party evangelicals and bigots more as well. Sorry you're stuck with them, Republicans, but they're a major part of your coalition now. There's room for you under our big tent if you don't want to deal with them anymore

Legitimate rape, anyone?

[Mr. Morden]

I'm 100% confident Huckabee would have won. Despite having some rather disgusting views, he's actually very likable and authentic seeming, two things that Mitt lacked and did more damage to his campaign than anything else in my opinion.

His genuinely disgusting views would have motivated the Tea Party evangelicals and bigots more as well. Sorry you're stuck with them, Republicans, but they're a major part of your coalition now. There's room for you under our big tent if you don't want to deal with them anymore

Akin/Boozman would have destroyed his candidacy.

[Rules for me, but not for thee]

Huckabee maybe.  If Jeb runs in 2016; I'm voting for whoever the Democrat is.

[milhouse24]

Whoever can get either the Evangelical or Hispanic vote. 

Those 2 groups lost it for ROmney.

[BlueSwan]

Christie as nominee would've made for quite the dramatic final week of the campaign, given Hurricane Sandy.  That would make an interesting timeline.

I know what you mean and I've thought about that myself. But it's important to keep in mind that if any of those candidates had run, there wold have been no hurricane Sandy...in the same sense that if you drop a pencil right now, you've completely changed the weather 6 months from now.

There of course would have been other hurricanes and some may have hit the US, but the chance of one hitting New Jersey would be same as the long term average of such occurrences.

I've pointed this out before on the forums when some people were talking about how Kerry would have handled Katrina. And I sort of got laughed at, but it's still true.

No, it's not. It is borderline insane.

As for the quastion posed in this thread, the important thing is that none of them would have won the election. The whole idea that the "elite republicans" sat this one out isn't with much merit. Mitt Romney was really always the favourite and would likely have been the nominee regardless of his problems with sealing the deal during the primaries.