One Tough Veep? Snyder Won't Quash Romney Running Mate Rumors
LANSING (WWJ) - Could Michigan Governor Rick Snyder be the next Vice President of the United States?
According to a Tampa Republican political consultant, that's a possibility if GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney wins the race. In an opinion piece, Chris Ingram wrote that he is betting the self-named "tough nerd" will be Romney's running mate.
Ingram called the Charlie Langton Talk Radio 1270 show Friday to defend his hypothesis, saying an analysis of hotel rooms near the GOP convention shows Snyder is Romney's chosen running mate.
"If you're a delegate coming to the convention, it's very important where your hotel is, how close you are," Ingram said. "Mitt Romney and the Massachusetts delegation, no surprise here, the RNC assigned them the most prime choice hotel ... the Marriott water side, that's where they'll be staying... The second most sought-after hotel is the Embassy Suites, it's kind of right across the street from the Marriott water side."
So, where is Snyder staying? The Embassy Suites -- "It's been assigned to none other than the state of Michigan," Ingram said, adding it's less than a five-minute walk to the convention center.
Ingram admitted his analysis is "somewhat tongue-in-cheek," but it's also meaningful. 'The Michigan delegation, the fact that they're there, is an indication of something."
Despite conjecture to the contrary, Marco Rubio will not be the VP nominee, Ingram added, because his Florida delegation hotel is at least a 45-minute commute from the convention. "If you look at your governor, he's done a great job," Ingram said, adding that he's not a career politician and he represents "real change."
"There's a lot of strong reasons, outside of hotel assignments, why Mr. Romney should be, and probably is looking at (him) as a vice presidential nominee," Ingram said.
Meantime, back in Michigan, WWJ Lansing Bureau Chief Tim Skubick spoke with Snyder.
"He didn't rule it out, he clearly didn't rule it in," said Skubick. "I said, 'Are you interested,' and his answer continually was, 'I love what I'm doing. I'm interested in the state of Michigan. We've got work to do here.'
Pressed further, Skubick reports Snyder would not say he's not interested, which could feed the speculation.
However, Skubick said a source close to the governor insists Snyder is indeed not interested in the position.
"But the state is getting a great deal of publicity and pop from this speculation, so why kill it? It brings attention to what the state of Michigan is doing," Skubick said.
Ingram's primary reason for pointing to Snyder was, in short, that Michigan got the second best hotel location for the Republican National Convention last August.
