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Report: Condoleeza Rice Atop Romney's VP List

MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is scouring the country looking for the perfect vice-presidential running mate. According to the Drudge Report, a familiar name is now on the top of that list.

Drudge is reporting that former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is now the front-runner for vice-presidential running mate with Romney.

Drudge's report came just hours after the Romney campaign launched a new fundraising push that is offering a donor the chance of winning a meeting with the GOP nominee and his new running mate.

Rice has remained popular, especially in GOP circles, since the end of the George W. Bush administration. However, Romney will be walking a tight rope by picking a running mate who was a high-ranking official in the vastly unpopular Bush administration.

Still, Rice would bring appeal to some independents who lean to the right. The move could also serve as a bit of a cushion to charges the Republican Party is anti-woman and anti-minority. Rice is also used to debating which would make the vice-presidential debates must-see TV.

However, Rice's name is just the latest to be rumored to be at the top of Romney's list.

Other names that have been floated as trial balloons include: Florida Senator Marco Rubio, Ohio Senator Rob Portman, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, and Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan.

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