Democrats have one black governor – Deval Patrick of Massachusetts – and a black mayor with star power in Newark’s Cory Booker. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida currently chairs the Democratic National Committee, but her role as her party’s attack dog is not ideal for a national ticket. Former Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren, who conceived and created the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, could be a force in years to come if she wins her Massachusetts Senate race. But that’s a big if.
Romney’s vice presidential search is the first since his party’s 2008 roller-coaster ride with Palin, who had served less than two years as Alaska governor and came across as utterly unprepared for national office.
The Palin comparison is inevitable for vice presidential prospects in their first term, even if they demonstrate they are familiar with national issues, as Rubio did recently in a foreign policy speech. “All of those folks are people that I think would measure head and shoulders above Sarah Palin in terms of being prepared for that kind of opportunity,” former sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., said of his party’s female and minority prospects.
Still, the GOP is unlikely to take that kind of chance again. “I think after the Sarah Palin experience there may be some reluctance to go with a first-term governor, a first-term anything. I think that’s going to be part of the challenge,” said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University, as she reflected on whether Romney will chose a woman or minority to join him on the ticket. “I think they’re probably going to want somebody … who’s been in office a little bit longer,” she said.
That bodes well for Republicans over the next decade. “When you look at the next 10, 12 years, we have a very strong bench of women and minorities who come up through the system organically,” said Republican strategist Cherie Jacobus. Up-and-comers include Reps. Tim Scott of South Carolina (who is black); Kristi Noem of South Dakota (a member of the House GOP leadership), and Jaime Herrara Beutler of Washington state (who is Hispanic).
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