Mitt Romney to announce his VP pick on Saturday

Mitt and Ann Romney arriving in Virginia Friday (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

NORFOLK, Va.--Mitt Romney will name his vice presidential running mate on Saturday.

Per a statement released late Friday, the presumptive Republican nominee will announce his running mate at an 8:45am rally here on the USS Wisconsin--the first stop of his four-day bus tour of key battleground states. The campaign offered no further details, and aides traveling with the presumptive Republican nominee declined to comment.

Almost immediately, speculation began about Romney's choice of venue for the announcement. The USS Wisconsin is the ship named after the home state of House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan, who has been the subject of growing buzz among conservatives in recent days. But the announcement also takes place in Virginia, where Gov. Bob McDonnell has also been rumored as a possible vice presidential pick.

Others believed to be on the short list: Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. CNN reported late Friday that Romney phoned several Republicans believed to be on his short list to tell them he had made a pick--though he didn't identify who that person was, nor did the network identify who he phoned. A Romney spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The campaign tried its best to stoke the buzz over Romney's VP pick. In recent weeks, the campaign has sent out emails to supporters soliciting contributions as part of a contest offering a chance to meet Romney and his running mate. More recently, the campaign unveiled a mobile phone application, Mitt's VP, that promises to reveal the name of Romney's running mate before it is announced to the media.

In recent days, Romney has repeatedly declined to offer any hints about who he might pick--most recently in an interview with NBC News on Thursday. Asked about the vice presidential announcement during a media briefing on Friday, Romney senior adviser Eric Fehrnstrom directed reporters to download the campaign's mobile app.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/mitt-romney-announce-vp-pick-saturday-032140054.html

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