Not all of Romney's potential VP choices are fat cats
(CBS News) Mitt Romney is hitting the campaign trail Friday and over the weekend with some of his possible running mates -- and while none of them are as wealthy as Romney himself, they all fare pretty well financially, newly-released disclosure reports confirm. Still, not all members of Congress are fat cats -- and some other potential vice presidential picks have a negative net worth.
Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, a 41-year-old, first-term senator from Florida, has at least $127,000 in assets, according to his financial disclosure report, including one rental property worth at least $100,000. And in addition to his congressional salary (the base pay for a member of Congress is $174,000), he earned just over $14,000 last year in his stint as a political science instructor at Florida International University. Still, the young senator -- considered a rising star in the GOP-- has at least $550,000 in liabilities, including $100,000 in student loans.
After the senator's disclosure report was released, Rubio spokesman Alex Conant tweeted, "Senator Rubio's financial disclosures show he has more in common with people he represents than people he serves with."
Sen. John Thune of South Dakota -- who's kept mum on whether the Romney campaign is vetting him as a possible vice presidential pick -- has at least $157,000 in assets. However, he has at least at $200,000 worth of debt in mortgages.
Meanwhile, Romney begins a five-day bus tour Friday in New Hampshire with another potential running mate, Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H. The first-term senator has at least $622,000 in assets, including a rental condo in Nashua worth at least $100,000 and a business worth at least $250,000 -- Daley's Outdoor Services, a landscape design and installation company that Ayotte and her husband launched in 2003.
She also has a minimum of $400,000 in liabilities, including a $250,000 mortgage on her primary home and a $100,000 mortgage on the rental condo.
Romney's Ohio visit on Sunday will feature stops with Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, who has at least $7.4 million in assets and a minimum of $750,000 in liabilities, making him one of the wealthier VP prospects. His liabilities include a line of credit worth at least $500,000.
In Wisconsin, Romney will campaign with Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., who has more than $1.4 million in assets and liabilities of at least $250,000 (in the form of a mortgage on his Janesville, Wis. home).
Another potential vice presidential pick, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., requested an extension to file his financial disclosure reports.
Members of Congress every year are required to report their wealth and liabilities in broad ranges, so it's impossible to determine their exact net worth. Still, it's clear that Congress is diproportionately wealthy as a whole. None of Romney's possible running mates appear to be as wealthy as the candidate himself, whose assets range between $190 million and $250 million.
