Fascinating – not surprising, and perhaps a bit of off-the-cuff boilerplate praise for some rising stars in the GOP, but fascinating nonetheless, from the good folks at Bearing Drift:
Former Massachussets governor and presidential aspirant Mitt Romney was in Virginia Beach yesterday attending a fundraiser at the home of State Sen. Jeff McWaters.
The $1200 per plate event brought up some interesting data points regarding Governor Bob McDonnell.
Romney said that McDonnell has been an “incredible governor” and will be on “any candidate’s short-list” for Vice President. Now, considering that the candidate was in Virginia Beach – effectively McDonnell’s hometurf, that statement should be taken with a grain of sand. But he reiterated that the short list is “McDonnell, Governor Christie of New Jersey and Marco Rubio of Florida.”
Romney is not blind. He realizes that Virginia is an important state, witnessed only by the number of trips the president has made here in 2011. The commonwealth voted Democrat for president for the first time since 1964 in 2008, so Romney considers Virginia “key” in 2012.
J.R. Hoeft adds, “It is expected that Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling will reprise his roll as chief Romney supporter in Virginia again, as he did in 2008 in Romney’s first run for the nomination. This could point to McDonnell potentially leading in Romney’s Veep-stakes.”
McDonnell has indicated in past comments that he would consider an offer to be a candidate’s running mate, but has been quick to add he’s “not expecting a call.”
Keep in mind that if Texas Gov. Rick Perry departs his spot as head of the Republican Governors Association to run for president, McDonnell is slated to move into the top spot.