GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump should choose a running mate who is serious-minded and understands Congress, a Wyoming congresswoman said Wednesday, arguing the vice president slot would be the ideal place to temper his outsized personality.
Rep. Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming Republican, also said the mogul should share the ticket with a woman, someone like Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire or former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
“I would suggest that he consider a running mate, if it gets to that point, who is disciplined, who has a relationship with Congress,” she said. “I would suggest a woman, because some of the remarks he has made about women are not going to help him appeal to some of the 53 percent of the voting populace that are women.”
“Lummis for vice president!” interjected Rep. Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican, at a Conversations with Conservatives event hosted by the Heritage Foundation.
The lawmakers, including members of the outspoken House Freedom Caucus, said the GOP race is not over. But they acknowledged that Mr. Trump has a clearer path to the nomination after his sweep of five Northeast primaries late Tuesday.
Rep. Raul Labrador, Idaho Republican, said the eventual nominee has to be either Mr. Trump or Sen. Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who’s received the second-most delegates and is spoiling for a second-ballot win at the convention in Cleveland.
“I think if we go beyond that, then it’s going to look like a rigged system, and I think the party’s going to fall apart,” he said.
Members said Mr. Trump hasn’t reached out to them yet, although they would like to hear about his views on the Constitution and who he would hire to his cabinet, saying they don’t have a complete picture of what a Trump administration would look like.
Members said they aren’t sure if Mr. Trump has the fiscal discipline to balance the budget while he “makes America great,” though they are prepared to rally behind the eventual GOP nominee.
“The one thing that will unite our party more than anything else is Hillary Clinton,” Rep. Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican, said of the Democratic front-runner.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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