Former congressional candidate and Oregon delegate to the Republican National Convention Kevin Mannix predicted on Monday that Presidential nominee John McCain (R-Ariz.) would choose Mitt Romney as his vice presidential running mate.

“My speculation is Sen. McCain will choose Mitt Romney,” Mannix told PolitickerOR.com in a phone interview. “Based on Romney’s broad appeal to a broad conservative base, Romney is who he will choose.”

Mannix, who ran for the Republican nomination for Congress in the 5th District against Mike Erickson, knows a lot about trying to appeal to a broad conservative base on issues ranging from protecting medicare benefits, to expanding trade markets, to being staunchly pro-life.

He lost a close primary, but Mannix will still be attending the Republican National Convention as one of the state’s eight at-large delegates, and he will get the opportunity to cast his vote for whomever McCain chooses to be his vice president.

Meanwhile, Erickson will not be attending the Republican National Convention, and will be using that week to reach out to voters in the 5th District, according to Erickson’s campaign manager Jeff Harvey.

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