Reuters: Romney VP choice narrowed down to three

The “VeepStakes” competition is in full swing and the stories coming out regarding Romney’s selection process and alleged finalization of a choice are dropping everyday. The latest comes from Reuters claiming that Romney has narrowed the list down to three possible names.

Report from Reuters:

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney appears to be in the final stages of deciding who to pick as his vice presidential running mate, with speculation growing that he has narrowed his choice down to a short-list of three.

Ohio Senator Rob Portman, former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal all offer various strengths to Romney should he decide to pick one of them to join his battle to unseat President Barack Obama and his vice president, Joe Biden, in the November 6 election.

Many Republicans believe Romney will break from tradition and announce his choice well before the party’s convention in Tampa in late August that will formally nominate Romney as the Republican candidate.

Campaign officials were loathe to discuss the selection process or the short list but made clear that Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, had yet to make up his mind.

“No decision has been made. An announcement could happen any time between now and the convention, but it will only happen after a decision has been made and no decision has been made,” said Romney campaign senior adviser Eric Fehrnstrom.

This story claims the list is down to Pawlenty, Portman or Jindal. That, of course, omits Marco Rubio, a favorite among the party’s conservative base and winner of most polls asking who Romney should choose. I have a feeling the list is probably smaller than those three mentioned and could include names not even mentioned in this article. Then again maybe I’m wrong since only the campaign truly knows who is seriously being considered.

The name dropping and speculation will continue for a few weeks I’d gather unless the campaign perceives the need to shake up the news cycle between now and the convention in going public with a VP choice. Otherwise it is constant free publicity to keep the process going, keep the media guessing and keep eager Republican voters on the edge of their seats up to the convention.