Christie, Daniels ’71 targeted for Romney's vice president

While neither entered the Republican race for the 2012 presidential nomination, their involvement in the race itself could be far from over.

Daniels decided against seeking nomination last May, saying that his family was concerned about the rigor of a presidential campaign. Christie ended speculation of a presidential run in October 2011 despite months of encouragement from Republican leaders.

Yet as both men resurface in the national political conversation, the nomination of either as Romney’s vice presidential choice is by no means assured or even likely, according to Mac McCorkle ’77, a retired Democratic political consultant and now a visiting lecturer at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy.

McCorkle said neither Daniels nor Christie would be a strategic choice for Romney, noting that the two men were not from geographically desirable states and did not appeal to the socially conservative Republican base or women voters.

“They’re not from the swing states,” McCorkle said. “Compare that to somebody like [Republican senator] Rob Portman from Ohio. From the electoral map, there’s awkwardness to picking either of them in terms of efficiency of what you’re trying to accomplish.”

Daniels and Christie may also fail to appeal to a conservative constituency. Though both have shown conservative “credibility” in managing their state’s budgets, McCorkle said he doubts their selection would excite social conservatives that are wary of a Romney nomination.

“Daniels wants a peace in the cultural war, and Christie’s views on a lot of things like gay rights [do not make him] a card carrying Tea-Partier by any stretch,” McCorkle noted.

Daniels has in the past called for a “truce” on social issues, explaining that the Republican Party should focus on fiscal issues.

Even if Romney chose either Daniels or Christie, the same reasons that caused the two politicians to decline a presidential bid could cause them to turn down the vice presidential nomination.

Daniels’ definitive position of “family first” could make him reluctant to accept the nomination. Daniels’ complicated marital history with his wife Cheri — the pair divorced and then remarried three years later — would be a point of interest for the press, McCorkle explained.

“I don’t understand it,” McCorkle said. “And unfortunately for Daniels, what probably will happen is the press will want to understand it more, too.”

Eric Holcomb, the campaign manager on Daniels’ 2008 re-election campaign for governor, said that despite the political pondering, Daniels’ top political priority was finishing out his term as governor, which will end in 2012.

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“While all the speculation is fun, he’s focused on finishing his current job strong and will cross those bridges in the future when, and if, they appear,” Holcomb said in an email.

Christie, who was just elected in 2009, could be biding his time for a chance at a 2016 presidential run, McCorkle explained.

“If I’m Christie, I’m thinking, ‘I’ve got this kind of swagger and independence. I want to go flip-flopping to be his right wing or to go through that gauntlet of the social-conservative base.’ I can see him waiting it out,” McCorkle said.

As to the political future of the two, neither seems likely to disappear entirely from the national radar, McCorkle said.

“Christie is going to be around as long as he sustains a successful governorship,” McCorkle said. “I think Daniels would be more likely to be a member of Romney or Christie Cabinet, a secretary of treasury, head of the Fed or a major player, but not running for office itself.”