Insiders weigh in on Trump VP options

With only a little over a month to go until the Republican convention in Cleveland, the topic of running mates for both the Democratic and Republican presumptive nominees has risen towards the top. This morning the Politico Caucus offers it's thoughts on who likely GOP standard-bearer Donald Trump should pick:

GOP insiders: Trump should pick Newt for vice president

GOP members of The POLITICO Caucus – a panel of activists, strategists and operatives in 10 key battleground states – splintered this week when asked to suggest who Trump should select to share the ticket with him this fall.

Gaining the most support were former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (13 percent), Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (9 percent), Ohio Gov. John Kasich (8 percent), former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (8 percent), Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst (7 percent) and Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions (7 percent)....

“He's intimately knowledgeable how Congress works and has a keen understanding of how to push the Executive Branch,” said a Florida Republican, who, like all respondents, completed the survey anonymously. “Speaker Gingrich also brings the conservative credibility that should assuage some of the establishment class which is licking their wounds after being squeezed and beaten for the past year.”

“He is excellent on his feet,” added a Virginia Republican.

The discussion provides some helpful insight into what the Trump campaign ought to be considering in terms of a running mate, but if the past year has shown anything, it's that Trump doesn't necessarily do what is expected or thought to be necessary, and at least in terms of the nomination contest it seems to have worked out reasonably well for him so far. In other words, it's reasonable to expect the unexpected here as well.