Romney & Ryan: Is That the Ticket?
By:
Updated: August 13, 2012
NORFOLK, Va., Aug. 11, 2012
Mitt Romney will announce his vice presidential running mate this morning in Virginia, his campaign said -- and signs point to Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.
Romney, who has several events planned Saturday in Virginia, a crucial swing state, will announce his running mate during a stop at the USS Wisconsin in Norfolk, Va., starting at 8:45 a.m.
The name of the ship raised speculation that Romney's pick could be Ryan, a seven-term Republican from Janesville, Wis., known as a fiscal conservative.
In fact, multiple top Republican operatives close to the Romney campaign told ABC News they believed Romney had chosen Ryan to be his running mate.
Meanwhile, Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, called ABC News late Friday to say he is in Columbus, Ohio, and will be doing a 100-mile bike ride on Saturday in his home state, not attending a vice presidential announcement in Norfolk, Va.
ABC News has learned that at least two other possible vice presidential candidates have been called by Mitt Romney and told they have not been chosen. Romney did not tell either of them who he had picked.
Other names on Romney's short list also appeared to be out of contention.
ABC News saw Tim Pawlenty in downtown Manchester, N.H., and not heading to the airport. He told ABC News that he will not be in Virginia today and is not Romney's vice presidential pick. He said he knew the identity of the pick but would not reveal it.
"I didn't enter this thinking I would be the VP candidate so I'm not disappointed," Pawlenty said. "I'm excited about [Romney's] candidacy and I'm excited about having him as president."
And ABC News has learned Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., is also not going to be the vice presidential candidate.
The location of the event in Virginia raised the possibility that the pick could be Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, another name that has surfaced as Romney's vice presidential selection process has proceeded. McDonnell has been slated to appear at campaign events today alongside Romney.
Late Friday, McDonnell would not tell ABC News whether or not he was Romney's pick.
"I guess we'll have to stay tuned and see tomorrow," he said. "You know, there's only a couple people that know and that's Mitt Romney, so we'll find out tomorrow."
The news of Romney's impending announcement first broke via Twitter, when Romney's communications director, Gail Gitcho, tweeted, "@MittRomney will announce his VP pick Saturday, in Norfolk.
By JONATHAN KARL (@jonkarl) , SHUSHANNAH WALSHE (@shushwalshe) and EMILY FRIEDMAN (@EmilyABC)
ABC News' Arlette Saenz and Michael S. James contributed to this report.
