Inevitable question: Best running mate for Kasich?

[Lincoln Republican]

Inevitable question:

Who would be the best running mate for John Kasich?

[MATTROSE94]

Maybe Marco Rubio?

[The Other Castro]

Marco Rubio would be a good choice, winning Florida and Ohio are vital to a Republican victory.

[Likely Voter]

I have long said that Kasich/Rubio would be the perfect ticket for the GOP. Favorite sons from two must win states, Good mix of age/experience and ideology. Both have a chance to help expand appeal outside the base.

[Donald Trump 2016 !]

Marco Rubio or Susana Martinez.

[Senator Cris]

Kasich/Rubio. One of the best tickets.

[Clark Kent]

As everyone else here has already stated, Kasich/Rubio would be pretty great.

[The Dowager Mod]

Piyush obviously.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Kasich is the running mate. He exists to be a boring white guy running mate that can take Ohio. He has no other effective qualities.

[Suburbia]

Thune. Kasich doesn't need bold. Kasich / Thune would do no harm.

[Senator Cris]

Thune. Kasich doesn't need bold. Kasich / Thune would do no harm.

Thune is boring.

[Blair]

Hasn't the VP carrying states myth been debunked?

[Mister Mets]

Rubio's a decent fit. There's a balance in terms of age and experience.

But I think Susanna Martinez and Nikki Haley are strong contenders. They're two women who add diversity to the ticket, meet the qualifications threshhold and don't have any Washington baggage.

Condoleeza Rice has high name recognition, and adds diversity.

[Peeperkorn]

I'm sure next GOP candidate for president or vice president WILL be hispanic.

[Mister Mets]

Hasn't the VP carrying states myth been debunked?

It's been muddied.

But there is the arguments that veeps can help, especially if they're popular in the home state.

One boost that doesn't help Rubio is if the running mate comes from a small state. Nate Silver tried to suggest that Brian Sandoval would have helped Romney best in 2012.

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/how-romneys-pick-of-a-running-mate-could-sway-the-outcome/?_r=0

It is worth noting that Mitt Romney improved Republican's numbers in Wisconsin much better than in the rest of the country (reducing Obama's 13.9 point margin in the state in 2008 to a 6.94 point margin in 2012) so 2012 could have included a running mate who helped significantly.

[dudeabides]

Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Kelly Ayotte, or Governor Susana Martinez.

But he won't be the nominee.

[Peeperkorn]

Hasn't the VP carrying states myth been debunked?

It's been muddied.

But there is the arguments that veeps can help, especially if they're popular in the home state.

One boost that doesn't help Rubio is if the running mate comes from a small state. Nate Silver tried to suggest that Brian Sandoval would have helped Romney best in 2012.

http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/how-romneys-pick-of-a-running-mate-could-sway-the-outcome/?_r=0

lol santorum

[Famous Mortimer]

Marco Rubio will be the VP candidate for every Republican candidate who isn't Rubio, Bush, or Trump.

[Maxwell]

Kasich is the running mate. He exists to be a boring white guy running mate that can take Ohio. He has no other effective qualities.

This is beltway think that never works, though. Al Gore never won Tennessee for Clinton, as proved by his own inability to win it, Dick Cheney wasn't a swing state guy, and Joe Biden was from Delaware. Just about every running mate I can think of picked for electoral purposes lost (Paul Ryan).

[Marokai Backbeat]

Kasich is the running mate. He exists to be a boring white guy running mate that can take Ohio. He has no other effective qualities.

This is beltway think that never works, though. Al Gore never won Tennessee for Clinton, as proved by his own inability to win it, Dick Cheney wasn't a swing state guy, and Joe Biden was from Delaware. Just about every running mate I can think of picked for electoral purposes lost (Paul Ryan).

I don't disagree that people overestimate the effect a running mate has on winning a state, but a popular figure from that state can definitely shore up certain voters and make it closer than it otherwise would've been. Gore may have never been the reason Clinton won Tennessee, but he absolutely did win it twice and Gore couldn't have hurt.

I think a lot of people look back on 2004 with Edwards and conclude that VPs never have an effect; it's not really completely true. Popular VPs do. Edwards was a one-termer who was never all that popular. Palin on the other hand was (despite her reputation crashing in the years to come) very popular in Alaska and early polls had shown Obama doing very competitively there until she was picked as the running mate.

Edit: (Going further with the Palin example, look back on Alaska's results in 2008 vs 2012. Obama did noticeably better in 2012 despite the national swing against him. That can only be attributed to Palin being on the ticket.)

Kasich is, much as I don't like it, relatively popular here and won a landslide in his re-election. In a close campaign (and as traditionally close as Ohio is on its own) Kasich would definitely move the needle. If I was running the Clinton campaign I'd be worried about Kasich.

[Kingpoleon]

Senator Marco Rubio, Senator Kelly Ayotte, or Governor Susana Martinez.

But he won't be the nominee.

Because "Bush is the best!"

Kasich is the running mate. He exists to be a boring white guy running mate that can take Ohio. He has no other effective qualities.

Boring? He has negativities about his personality, but boring is hardly one of them.

Kasich wouldn't touch the running-mate offer. He's aiming for Brown's Senate seat if he doesn't become President.



That said, here's a short-list for him:

6. Jim Webb
5. Susana Martinez
4. Kelly Ayotte
3. Brian Sandoval
2. Joe Biden
1. Marco Rubio

[Vega]

Yeah, VPs only help swing a state if they're really popular, when it comes to that criteria, Sandoval and Martinez fit the mold best.

[Kingpoleon]

Yeah, VPs only help swing a state if they're really popular, when it comes to that criteria, Sandoval and Martinez fit the mold best.

Kasich is one of a very few who would make his home state Republican if on the ticket.


66% approval ratings are just a little impressive.

[TomC]

Susana Martinez