Joshua Clinton and John Geer, two Vanderbilt University professors, make the case that Republicans should consider Tennessee governor Bill Haslam as a presidential contender:

Gov. Bill Haslam, may well become an increasingly visible part of these presidential sweepstakes. The November 2014 Vanderbilt Poll suggests why this may be the case. According to our data, Gov. Haslam stands at 70 percent approval among registered voters in the state. This is a very high number. Politicians, in fact, dream about such approval numbers…
Among self-identified Democrats in our recent poll, he garners 57 percent approval — numbers that most Democratic governors would relish! Such approval from members of the opposition party is quite amazing in this era of polarized politics — especially because this support has not cost Haslam the backing of his base. Consider that 76 percent of self-identified tea partiers approve of the job the governor is doing.

Of course, a successful presidential bid requires more than just high approval numbers in a candidate’s home state. Ask Rick Perry.

The governor told The Tennessean newspaper that he’s tougher than his “nice guy” image suggests:

The national political magazine labeled him the “anti-Christie,” in comparison to outgoing RGA leader and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and questioned whether he was “too nice” to lead the organization.
Haslam laughed when asked about the article, saying that Christie “had an opinion about that,” although he didn’t elaborate. Haslam acknowledged he doesn’t go out of his way to find political battles, but said he isn’t scared of them.
“I don’t go looking for a fight just to have a fight. And again, I don’t think that produces anything,” Haslam said. “But if there is a hard decision to make, I think we have shown we can make those.”
“If there’s something to be gained by drawing a line, you draw a line. But you don’t draw a line just to draw one.”

Here’s a recent video of Haslam touting his state’s economic momentum:

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The problems for Haslam are the same ones facing Ohio Rob Portman, who recently chose to not run for president. The 2016 Republican field appears set to have a bunch of big names with large personalities, large fundraising bases, distinct national profiles and the beginnings of a national organization: Probably former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Christie, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Dr. Ben Carson, perhaps Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, Ohio Gov. John Kasich… And then there’s possibly Mitt Romney coming back.

Even if half that list chooses not to run, the 2016 Republican primary voters are going to be looking at a crowded debate stage. If you’re not a really charismatic, standout figure with a unique ability to win people over, you’re going to get lost on that stage.