Who Should Stand by their Man: Part One

Grassroots Donors in Bush-Obama America Weigh in

by David J Dent & Christopher Drakeford

Summertime is a week away in the year of a presidential election. Tis the time for the vice presidential guessing game to consume the beltway. Washington insiders are not alone in their obsessions over the question: Who should stand by Romney? Politics is a big national sport in Bush-Obama America as well. We have given the Veepstakes a grassroots edge in the first of a series on Bush-Obama perspectives on the big choice Romney faces. We randomly threw the question at Republican donors of all sizes in the swing states–Ohio, Colorado, North Carolina, and Virginia. For some, the favored choice for Romney was highly personal. “My husband’s retired military, I have a son active duty,” says Debra Schmidt, a card specialist at CVS. “I don’t want them compromised.” So her choice is a long shot: Allen West, the Florida Congressman who retired as a Lieutenant Colonel after more than 20 years in the US Army with several combat deployments in Iraq. The former Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin says West tops her list. Most other donors interviewed prefer that Romney select another Floridian. In fact, if the majority of the 20 donors were inside Mitt’s mind, Rubio would be the mate, while Former Governor Jeb Bush, often considered a strong possibility, would not even be in the running.

Here’s how our 20 donors answered the question: