jindalsotu1bIt's been speculated that in order for Mitt Romney to gain the much needed edge over Obama, he would have to pick a vice presidential running mate that qualifies as diverse. Mitt Romney has had several issues during his campaign trail but among one of his biggest issues is his in ability to relate to the average American. Being raised in a life of privilege and extreme wealth is the story of only 1% of Americans.  

President Obama, on the other hand, has had the benefit of being your average American that was the product of a single-mom home in middle America, yet went on to become a Harvard Law graduate and of course, our President.  

And he's black. 

With racial and ethnic minorities growing at faster rates than Caucasians, the racial divide has been shifting in the last several decades with Latino and African-Americans becoming the majority-minority in this country.  

What’s this mean for Romney? He will need to try and pick up some of the minority vote. Romney needs a woman, African-American, or Latino in his corner in order to try and gain some sort of edge over Obama.


Who are the likely candidates? 

Condi Rice is likely Romney's best bet for two obvious reasons; she's a woman and African-American. She’s also smart as a whip. Still, she's a bit of a risk for Romney. Her association with the Bush administration may be a turn off to voters, and her alleged "liberal" views on abortion would further harm Romney amongst his most conservative supporters. Will she be enough to gain Romney some African-American votes? No. Perhaps wealthier African-Americans who are ready for this economy to shift may believe that a Romney/Rice ticket is the way to strengthen our economy. But your middle-class African-American voter will likely continue to vote for Obama with the understanding that Obama policies and initiatives are likely to benefit them rather than a Romney/Rice administration. 

Next up is Bobby Jindal whose name has been thrown around by some as a strong candidate for Romney. But Bobby's subpar public speaking skills and upbringing in Hinduism may not serve the conservative voters well. From a diversity standpoint, Jindal is not a strong representation of our minority population in America. I'm going to guess that the Latino and African-Americans will find Jindal equally as relatable as Romney. Jindal will give Romeny the edge he needs. 

Finally there's Marco Rubio. Rubio, who recently received the support of the largest Tea Party group this week is likely what will make a Romney/Rubio ticket unfavorable to the minority vote. Many African-American and Latino voters believe because Rubio's uber conservative platform is bad for middle America and minorities.

 

This post is part of a weekly conversation with our Moms Matter 2012 political bloggers. To see the original question and what the other writers have to say, see Who Is Your Republican VP Pick?


Image via BobbyJindal2007/Flickr