W&L Mock Convention picks Romney-McDonnell ticket

By: Bob Stuart | Media General News Service
Published: February 11, 2012

LEXINGTON It was Mitt Romney in a romp today at Washington and Lee University's 2012 Mock Republican Convention.

Gov. Bob McDonnell was nominated as Romney's running mate. McDonnell, who has been stumping in Republican primary states recently for Romney, spoke to the Mock Convention on Friday.

The Republican presidential candidate garnered 1,781 delegates and the Mock Convention Republican presidential nomination. Romney's closest competitor for delegates was former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich with 222.

Accepting the nomination on behalf of Romney was his wife, Ann, who spoke by telephone. She said the candidate was on an airplane.

Ann Romney said she and her husband were grateful for the support.

"Virginia is a state with a rich history and will play an important role in this year's election," she said. "We are truly fighting for the soul of America. Both Mitt and I want to thank everyone for playing a role in this year's Mock Convention. We appreciate the support and are truly grateful for the nomination."

Since 1908, the student-run Mock Convention has successfully picked the presidential nominee for the party not in the White House 18 of 24 times.

"You'll get it right," former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour told the students. He was the keynote speaker of Saturday's final session.

One of the misses came in 2008, when the choice was Hillary Clinton as the Democratic presidential nominee, not Barack Obama.

A Mock Convention news release details the odd pieces of convention history. In 1956, former Vice President Alben Barkley collapsed and died while giving a Mock Convention speech.

Barbour said this year's presidential election will be one of great contrast. He said the Obama administration "represents the greatest lurch to the left in American political history."

"We have seen a government takeover of the health care system and the greatest expansion of regulatory power in history," said Barbour, who said the two presidential nominees will be starkly different when they face off in the fall.

Bob Stuart writes for the News Virginian in Waynesboro.