Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.) said Friday he would join the Republican ticket as a vice presidential nominee "if it was the right fit."
"The focus is, of course, being a good congressional representative,” West told CNN. “But if someone were to make that call to me, which I really doubt is ever going to happen, you would have to make sure that it is something that God would ordain for you, and you’d have to talk to your wife, my wife and my two daughters about. But we have always stepped up to the plate to serve our country. And if it’s the right fit, then I will do so.”
Speculation about a spot on the ticket for the Tea Party firebrand grew this week when former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said she believed the eventual Republican nominee should make a "rogue" pick in her own mold. South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a prominent Mitt Romney surrogate who herself has been speculated about as a possible addition to the ticket, said Wednesday West could be a "good" choice, although later seemed to backtrack from those comments.
"First of all, I'm not recommending anybody," Haley said at the American Enterprise Institute, according to The Huffington Post. "I don't think I'm qualified to recommend anybody. What I will tell you, and what I was saying, was the people that have been mentioned. And all those people that I mentioned had been mentioned as a vice presidential nominee. I think there's going to be a slew of people and I mentioned that, you know, Allen West may come up."
But if West is added to the ticket, there's one hot-button issue he won't be discussing — gay marriage.
West told CNN anchor Kyra Phillips he didn't want to discuss the controversial topic because it wasn't a top concern for most Americans.
“I think if you poll the American people … I don’t think they’re going to bring up gay marriage as one of the top concerns," West said, calling the issue "not that important."
The Florida lawmaker said further discussion of the issue was "a rabbit hole."
“Let’s stay focused on the things that are critical for the American people right now and not try to create some kind of situation, you try to take me down a rabbit hole,” West said.
