Palin was somewhat of a surprise choice because she was never listed on McCain's short list. But names like former Homeland Security Secretary/former Gov. Tom Ridge, then-Connecticut U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, and then-Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty. BUT, he did suggest that Obama should have picked Hillary as a running mate. So obviously he wanted to pick a woman himself.
Not always do the poll numbers stay the same. They change with the candidates each election - as younger people who were 14 in the previous election are now 18 and can vote. And not to sound negative, but as older people and other people tend to die, or even people who are either busy or forget to or don't care to vote, the numbers change. We never get 100% of registered voters to vote. A lot of it is the campaign itself, for the undecided voters. Some are unwaveringly supporting their own party. But we can't think that someone is automatically just gonna win a state.
Some think LBJ helped JFK win Texas. But, it should be known that that doesn't always work, considering that the 2000 Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee, then-Vice President Al Gore - lost his own state of Tennessee.
2004 Democratic VP Nominee, North Carolina U.S. Sen. John Edwards lost his own state.
House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan the 2012 GOP VP Nominee lost his state of Wisconsin.
So that's an outdated theory. Just like not all incumbent Governors and Senators win re-election in their states.
Chris Christie is not even worth nominating. He's just a moderate. I don't care about catering to voters. Yes, I want my candidates to win. But my candidates are not defined by a title. They are defined by ideals. I care about educating people about why my ideals matter and they work better in practice, not just sound nice in theory.
If it's Hillary VS. Christie - realistically it could go either way but if they win I would possibly support former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson. He sought GOP Nod in 2012 but instead won the Libertarian Nomination. He was an effective two term Governor. Went into office in 1995 with a huge budget deficit, and left office 8 years later with a huge budget surplus. And he wants to legalize marijuana.