Potential GOP running mates profiled

July 24, 2000
Web posted at: 1:13 p.m. EDT (1713 GMT)

Dick Cheney

Former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney has been overseeing Bush's vice presidential search and is one of only three people said to know definitively who is in contention. But recent speculation has put Cheney himself among potential running mates. A former Wyoming congressman, Cheney led the Pentagon during President George Bush's 1989-1993 term and served as White House chief of staff under President Gerald Ford.

John Danforth

Former Missouri Sen. John Danforth was most recently in the news for his role as a special prosecutor, clearing federal agents of any wrongdoing in the disastrous 1993 conclusion to the Branch Davidian standoff in Waco, Texas. He took his name out of vice presidential contention earlier this year, saying he wanted to remain in private life, but has recently re-emerged as a potential candidate. An ordained Episcopal priest, Danforth was the patron of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas during his bruising 1991 confirmation by the Senate. He later wrote a book airing his grievances against Democrats and liberal groups who opposed Thomas' nomination.

Bill Frist

Tennessee Sen. Bill Frist is a former heart surgeon and director of Vanderbilt University Medical Center's heart and lung transplant center. His family has a long history in medicine, and his father and brother founded the forerunner to the world's largest health care company, Columbia/HCA. He still does volunteer medical work, and after a gunman's 1998 shooting spree in the U.S. Capitol, he helped tend to the wounded -- including the suspect, Russell Weston Jr.

Chuck Hagel

Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel was a major backer of John McCain's presidential bid during the primary season and is considered his best friend in the Senate. Though Nebraska is a small state already likely to post in the Republican column in November, picking Hagel could help bring more McCain voters to the GOP standard.

John Kasich

Ohio Rep. John Kasich has made a name for himself as chairman of the House Budget Committee. His attempt to parlay that into a presidential bid foundered nearly a year ago, making him one of the first GOP contenders to drop out. But having Kasich on the ticket could aid Bush's prospects in vote-rich Ohio and the Midwest.

Frank Keating

Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating has been one of the frontrunners among those handicapping the vice presidential sweepstakes. Keating garnered national attention for his handling of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. A former FBI agent, he is a protege of former New York Rep. Jack Kemp, the party's 1996 vice presidential nominee, and a Catholic who might help Republicans attract swing voters outside the Sun Belt.

John McCain

Arizona Sen. John McCain was George W. Bush's major challenger in the Republican primaries. He won key primaries in New Hampshire and Michigan with the help of independent voters. McCain was a Navy pilot who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. In recent years, he has broken with the bulk of the Republican party on several issues -- most notably, on his support of campaign finance reform, which most of the GOP considers anathema.

George Pataki

New York Gov. George Pataki emerged as a possible national candidate after he unseated Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo in 1994 and won a second term in 1998. New York has been reliably Democratic for years, but Pataki's popularity would force Democrats to expend valuable resources to defend their eastern stronghold if placed on the GOP ticket. Pataki resisted calls to give up his post in Albany to run against first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton for Senate, but could change his mind for a vice presidential nod.

Tom Ridge

Another top candidate among pundits, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge could help Bush carry his state -- one of the key northern battlegrounds -- and as a moderately conservative Catholic, he could aid in other states with large independent votes. But his position in favor of abortion rights could disqualify him among more conservative Republicans that form the core of the GOP.

Fred Thompson

A Watergate lawyer-turned-actor-turned-senator, Tennessee's Fred Thompson could put Vice President Al Gore's home state in play if named to a Bush ticket. His role investigating Democrats' 1996 fund-raising excesses could also remind voters of Gore's biggest weakness. But Thompson has also supported the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill, which many key Republicans oppose.