Senator Ted Cruz’s campaign has vetted Carly Fiorina as a possible running mate as part of a larger effort to create a short list of possible choices for Cruz.
Fiorina’s aide, Sarah Isgur Flores, confirmed that she was indeed on the list of potential VP choices.Flores also said they were looking at “normal stuff” like financial disclosures and other documentation.
Chad Sweet, Cruz’s campaign chairman, said on CNN that “He is vetting a number of solid candidates, and certainly Ms. Fiorina is absolutely one of them.” He also called Fiorina “one of the most talented business leaders of modern times.”
Cruz tried to downplay the significance of the list to reporters.
“We have acknowledged some time ago that we have begun a vice presidential search process,” Cruz said. “Any responsible candidate just a couple of months out from the convention would begin that process. We’ve begun examining both a long list and now a shorter list that has been called. And that naturally includes a vetting process. At this point, no decisions have been made in terms of who a nominee would be. Or what the timing would be of the announcement.”
Cruz and Governor John Kasich have both been mathematically eliminated from potentially winning the first ballot at the Republican National Convention in July. However, the two are working together to try to prevent frontrunner Donald Trump from winning the 1,237 necessary delegates. As such, both are hoping to arrive in Cleveland with a brokered convention and leave having won the nomination.
A brokered convention could cause the typical election schedule to be jumbled. The presumptive nominee, having the nomination locked up, typically announces his running roughly two weeks prior to the convention. There is little historical precedent to go off of, the most recent being the 1952 elections where both major parties had a contested convention. Dwight Eisenhower picked then-Senator Richard Nixon to be his running mate after he won the nomination. With the Democratic convention, several candidates were considered and President Truman, along with other party leaders, picked Senator John Sparkman to be Governor Adlai Stevenson’s running mate.