McCain will reveal running mate today
Announcement timed to slow Obama momentum
WASHINGTON – Sen. John McCain will hold a noontime rally with his running mate in Dayton, Ohio, today, kicking off his “Road to the Convention” tour in front of thousands of supporters at Wright State University.
The identity of McCain’s partner remained secret Thursday night even as McCain’s campaign arrived in the crucial battleground state in advance of the rally, which will be followed by appearances at minor league baseball stadiums in Pennsylvania and Missouri.
McCain aides have said they hope to use the announcement of the GOP vice presidential candidate to help slow the political momentum from the Democratic convention, which ended Thursday night.
As the secret held, furious speculation about McCain’s choice for a running mate centered Thursday on two conservative Republicans: Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.
Pawlenty abruptly canceled his schedule Thursday afternoon, while reports of Secret Service sweeps of a Romney family member’s home in Michigan suggested it was him instead.
A senior Republican operative said there was no evidence of an effort to reach out and soothe conservatives, a move that would probably be vital if McCain picked a candidate who favored abortion rights, such as former Pennsylvania governor Tom Ridge or Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn.
“There’s no battle plan to talk to conservatives,” the operative said. “That’s pretty dispositive in my mind.”
Top advisers said late Wednesday night that McCain had made his decision and planned to tell the lucky partner the next day. But in a Pittsburgh radio interview taped Wednesday and made public Thursday, McCain said he had not yet made up his mind.
“I haven’t decided yet, so I can’t tell you,” he told KDKA NewsRadio.
Some lobbyists, consultants and Republicans on Capitol Hill said they think Romney is the most likely pick for McCain, in part because he would be a do-no-harm candidate.
“Mitt by far and away is the most logical pick,” one GOP consultant said. “Look at the polling nationwide. The only guy that helps at all is Romney.”
One senior Republican who had talked personally with Romney, Ridge and Pawlenty during the past two days said, “All of them believe that it’s not them.”