Republican candidate Ted Cruz named Carly Fiorina as his running mate on Wednesday, the first person running for either party's nomination to do so.
Though the former Hewlett-Packard CEO dropped out in February, Fiorina's debate style appealed to voters. After polling so low that she was placed in the early "kid's table" debate at the beginning of her race, she performed well enough to be bumped up to the main stage for subsequent debates. Fiorina publicly endorsed Cruz several weeks ago.
Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton's campaign has recently confirmed that her campaign is considering vice presidential picks, but staffers are being relatively tight-lipped about who's on the short list.
While there's no race for the vice-presidency, that definitely doesn't mean that the hopefuls aren't campaigning. Various Republican political figures are already angling for an in with certain campaigns, while others are either playing coy about their chances or having their names thrown in for them.
There are any number of options, and endless speculation about who might be chosen. Refinery29 has collected some of the most prominent names swirling around. Click through to learn about the possible vice presidential picks.
Nikki Haley
Governor of South Carolina
Nikki Haley is both the first woman and the first Indian-American to hold the office of governor in South Carolina, and she’s popular with constituents. After a year in which South Carolina saw the massacre of nine Black churchgoers, followed by a heated debate over the use of the Confederate battle flag on state grounds, she finished 2015 with an approval rating of 56%, according to Public Policy Polling. In January, her response to Obama’s final State of the Union address, seen by some as a test of her ability to operate on the national stage, was widely considered a success. She’s a promising pick for a Ted Cruz campaign, as she endorsed the Texas senator after her original pick, Marco Rubio, dropped out.
Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images.
Chris Christie
Governor of New Jersey
After dropping out in February following a resounding defeat in the New Hampshire primary, Christie quickly turned around to support Donald Trump. Hostage memes notwithstanding, it was a move that left many suspecting he was already maneuvering for the vice presidential nod. Christie also has a personal connection with Trump, as the two have been friends for several years.
Photo: REX/Shutterstock.
Joni Ernst
Junior Senator from Iowa
Joni Ernst has been getting mentioned as a potential vice presidential pick since last summer, when seven of the then-14 Republican presidential candidates attended an event she hosted in Iowa. Ernst is the first female combat veteran to serve in the Senate — she served 23 years with the Iowa Army National Guard, driving supply convoys in Kuwait during the Iraq War in 2003. Her military career plus her service on the Senate’s Armed Forces and Homeland Security committees could bring foreign policy credibility to any of the Republican candidates. While she hasn’t been named in relation to any specific campaigns, she didn’t seem eager to shoot down speculation, saying to ABC News in July, “that’d be nice.”
Photo: Bloomberg/Getty Images.
Ben Carson
Former GOP Presidential Candidate
Ben Carson dropped out of the race for the GOP nomination in early March, but that doesn’t mean that he’s done gunning for the White House. In the weeks after recusing himself, Carson both endorsed his former opponent Donald Trump, and publicly stated that he’d be willing to be the businessman’s running mate. However, a super PAC purportedly raising money for a vice presidential bid for him shut down on March 25, after Carson said that it was using his name without permission. “I am not seeking title or position, but rather am interested in saving our country for the next generations,” he said in a Facebook post.
Photo: REX/Shutterstock.
Marco Rubio
Junior Senator from Florida
Marco Rubio suspended his own presidential campaign on March 15, 2016, but he had done reasonably well before the fatal loss of his home state of Florida. More than a month after his dropout, he still has 171 delegates and three states under his belt, more than third-place candidate John Kasich has yet accumulated. He could bring substantial support as a running mate — but a few days after dropping out of the presidential race, he told reporters that he had no intention of serving as vice president for any of his former rivals.
Photo: REX/Shutterstock.
Susana Martinez
Governor of New Mexico
Susana Martinez is the first Latina governor in the United States, and the chair of the Republican Governors Association. Though Martinez previously endorsed Marco Rubio, her name has been floated in the media as a potential VP pick for Donald Trump. Her connection to the Hispanic community could aid Trump, whose rhetoric on immigration has been seen as tone-deaf, at the very least. However, it’s unlikely that Martinez would want to hitch her wagon to the Trump campaign — she’s been publicly critical of his language regarding immigrants, and recently called his plan to build a wall on the Mexican border “unrealistic and irresponsible,” according to T he Washington Post.
Photo: Tom Williams/Getty Images.
John Kasich
Governor of Ohio
John Kasich is still in the race for the presidential nomination, but it’s looking increasingly unlikely. He only has 148 delegates, only a little over one-tenth of what he needs to win the nomination. Even with the possibility of a brokered convention, Kasich is a long shot for the presidency. However, he’s already been seen working with Ted Cruz — the two joined forces on April 24 in an effort to undermine their opponent, Republican front-runner Donald Trump. If Cruz is the eventual nominee, it’s possible he could turn to his old ally Kasich as a running mate.
Photo: REX/Shutterstock.Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
Who Is Carly Fiorina? Four Things To Know About Cruz's VP Pick
10 Women Explain Why They Carry Guns
She's Bucking The Stereotype That The GOP Is Too Old, Too Male, Too White