Who would have been a better running mate for Mitt Romney in 2012 than Paul Ryan? Many conservative radio station talk show hosts such as Michael Savage bashed Paul Ryan IOTL.
Rubio flips Florida, which was really close.
Rubio,Cruz,Mitch Daniels
Not sure who that would be; none of his rivals in 2012 could do much for that, and the 2016 crop of candidates were mostly too young/inexperienced (e.g. Rubio would have had 2 years in the Senate, and looks even younger than Ryan).
As for experience, he had as much experience as Obama did when he was elected president.
Who would have been a better running mate for Mitt Romney in 2012 than Paul Ryan? Many conservative radio station talk show hosts such as Michael Savage bashed Paul Ryan IOTL.
Nothing would change as you would still have Romney deliberately throwing the contest.
Mormonism is seen as a "cult" by evangelicals who are the hardest of the hardcore of the GOP base. A great many of them want nothing to do with any Mormon and several stayed at home. Even those who did vote for Romney were sub-enthusiastic about it. The secularist moderate Ryan did not help any. How does having a real evangelical TP running-mate not help at least somewhat?I'm not sure Romney needed much help turning out the hardcore conservatives; they both were and are solid and dependable Republican voters, especially when the alternative was Obama.
His biggest problems were that the fundamentals were good enough for Obama to win (note that, except for a blip around the RNC/first debate, the polls were actually reasonably consistent throughout)., and that he had the charisma of a wooden plank. The Democrats didn't need much work to make him look like the parody of an out-of-touch rich person. He needs to gamble, and he needs someone with charisma (and the ability to not look like a little kid while being schooled by Joe Biden).
Not sure who that would be; none of his rivals in 2012 could do much for that, and the 2016 crop of candidates were mostly too young/inexperienced (e.g. Rubio would have had 2 years in the Senate, and looks even younger than Ryan).
I think Rubio might flip Florida and maybe improve prospects elsewhere. I don't think he makes a significant dent in the different demographics, but I think the improved performance from the Republican ticket might help them in Congress. Bill Nelson might lose in Florida.