Condoleezza Rice garnered the most support among Republicans polled. Poll: Condi Rice tops GOP VP list

Republicans are increasingly falling in behind Mitt Romney’s White House run, but they haven’t got a clue who he should add to the ticket, a CNN/ORC International survey says.

Condoleezza Rice tops the vice presidential wish list among Republicans and right-leaning independents, according to the poll Wednesday. Twenty-six percent of those polled backed the former national security adviser and secretary of state under George W. Bush as Romney’s No. 2. (Rice has repeatedly said she’s not interested in the job.)


Romney’s former nomination rival, Rick Santorum, garnered 21 percent for the VP spot, while Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie tied for third with 14 percent.

Sen. Rob Portman, whose name has been topping the VP list among some political insiders, registered less than one-half of 1 percent in the poll – mainly because he’s a mystery.

Sixty-seven percent — the highest in the poll — had simply “never heard of” Portman, an Ohio Republican.

( Also on POLITICO: Veepstakes speculation: A guide)

The poll asked respondents to pick their vice presidential choice among eight names, including House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, or “someone else.”

There was also a tea party divide among those polled.

Tea party supporters found Rubio, at 22 percent, their favorite as Romney’s running mate, while Christie, at 18 percent, came in second. Rice tied with Santorum for third.

Among Republicans who say they aren’t avid tea party backers, however, 36 percent picked Rice as their top choice. Rubio trailed in the single digits in part because 55 percent of those outside of tea party circles said they’d never heard of him.

The CNN poll was conducted by ORC International from April 13-15, with 473 Republicans and right-leaning independents questioned by telephone. The survey’s overall margin of error is plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.