Poll: Rubio topping the veepstakes list

Like it or not, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) is still the hottest ticket in the quadrennial veepstakes.

Rubio's name was dropped the most times in a poll that asked 740 Republican and Independent voters who they would pick to be the GOP vice presidential nominee, regardless of who was at the top of the ticket.

Sixty-one voters offered up Rubio's name, even though he hadn't been mentioned previously in the survey by Fairleigh Dickinson University. Tied with 60 mentions were Michele Bachmann and Newt Gingrich.

Mitt Romney took fourth with 38 mentions, while New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), who turned down GOP efforts to draft him into the presidential race, came in fifth with 29 mentions.

Rubio, whose parents immigrated from Cuba, has ruled out being the 2012 Republican nominee for vice president. But supporters are still hopeful he will change his mind, and few would be shocked if he did.

“The Republican Party is trending older and whiter and more male,” said Peter Woolley, the poll's director. “Clearly some voters are looking for a little more contrast. Some know they will have to appeal to a broader group of people to win the White House.”

The poll was conducted Nov. 29 through Dec. 5 and had a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.

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