GOP lawmaker suggests Trump pick woman as VP

A female House Republican suggested Wednesday that Donald Trump select a woman as his running mate if he wins the party’s presidential nomination.

Rep. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), who is currently the only woman in the roughly 40-member conservative House Freedom Caucus, said choosing a female vice president for the GOP ticket would help Trump’s standing with women.

“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 said at a “Conversations with Conservatives” event on Capitol Hill hosted by The Heritage Foundation.

{mosads}She offered New Hampshire GOP Sen. Kelly Ayotte and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as possibilities. Ayotte would be an especially unlikely pick, given that she’s one of the most vulnerable Senate incumbents up for reelection in November.

Lummis further said Trump shouldn’t focus as much on trying to strike a regional balance, such as by choosing a running mate who represents a swing state. Instead, she said, Trump should pick someone who’s more “disciplined” and who has relationships on Capitol Hill.

“He has succeeded on the strength of his personality, so having a regional balance, as frequently happens, is not as important as perhaps having a personality balance,” Lummis said. 

Choosing a female running mate for the GOP ticket would be significant given that Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton is on track to become the first female presidential nominee of a major party.

Recent polls have shown that Trump’s inflammatory remarks about women have hurt his standing among female voters. One CNN poll from last month found that 73 percent of female voters had a negative view of Trump, compared to just 26 percent who viewed him positively.

Trump, among other things, targeted Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly for months after she asked him about his past comments regarding women at the first GOP debate last summer. His campaign also drew criticism last month for his retweet of two images that appeared to compare the attractiveness of his wife, Melania, and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s wife, Heidi.

Other lawmakers at Wednesday’s event declined to offer names, though Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) jokingly suggested House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio).

“I have no advice for Mr. Trump, because he doesn’t take advice,” said Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho).

Lummis is retiring from the House at the end of this year after four terms.