Rick Santorum might be gone from the GOP presidential race, but he’s not forgotten. According to a new Rasmussen poll just out, he is the second favorite pick among likely voters to be Mitt Romney’s runningmate and the first among all female voters. And when it comes to GOP likely voters, Santorum is also tops.
His popularity among women voters should help to dispell Democratic attacks that his socially conservative positions were an attack on women and it might boost his chances to become Romney’s No. 2, already moderately high because of his strong conservatism.
Rasmussen’s poll has New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as the top veep choice among all likely voters, including Democrats and independents. The poll, which surveyed the favorable ratings of leading Republican running mates, had Christie’s favorables at 43 percent, just 2 percent above Santorum, who bowed out of the GOP primary battle this week.
Third is Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, at 36 percent, followed by Florida Sen. Marco Rubio at 35 percent favorable and Ohio Sen. Rob Portman at 14 percent.
Among all likely female voters, Santorum’s favorable rating is 41 percent compared to 39 percent for Christie. Equally important, among GOP voters, Santorum is tops with a 68 percent favorability rating compared to Rubio’s 63 percent, Christie’s 62 percent, Ryan’s 61 percent and Portman’s 26 percent.
