Veepstakes Watch: More Kelly Ayotte Buzz

The name of Sen. Kelly Ayotte continues to be bandied about by national political observers as a potential running mate for Mitt Romney.

The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza ranks her as the seventh most likely vice presidential pick, making her the highest ranked woman on his list.

The New Hampshire Senator is still barely being buzzed about when it comes to the Veepstakes but we’ve got a hunch that she may wind up being a more serious player by the end of this process. Why? Ayotte is a woman (duh) from a swing state who is well liked by both the tea party and establishment wings of the party. She also has a law and order background — she was the state Attorney General before being elected to the Senate in 2010 — and a very natural manner on the campaign trail. If you are looking for a darkhorse, Ayotte could well be it.

Paul Bedard, Washington Examiner, claims congressional insiders are promoting her selection.

Push New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte higher on the list of names Mitt Romney is considering for his vice presidential pick. Top congressional officials, especially those associated with the Tea Party, are talking her up as a perfect pick if the presumptive nominee wants a woman veep.

Her allies are making the case that she isn’t an untested politician, like former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, and that she came to the Senate with more government experience than Barack Obama, having been a state attorney general before joining the Senate.

The most thoughtful analysis comes from The Hill’s Christian Heinze, who says winning votes from “soccer moms” — married women with children — will be crucial for Romney if he is to win the presidency. Selecting a female running mate, he writes, could help.

At first, second, and third glances, the Catholic Ayotte could help Romney significantly with soccer moms. She’s from a Northeastern state, has a degree from Villanova Law, argued a case before the Supreme Court, and eventually became the state’s Attorney General before running for Senate and winning in 2010. That’s a stellar pedigree.

Further, she’s conservative but not caustic; she’s pro-gun without the gloating, glorying and machismo of Palin, and she wrote a child predator act that made it into law. Make no mistake Ayotte is a deep conservative, but soccer moms are no more liberal than they are conservative and shouldn’t be confused for much more liberal single women. After all, Obama scored much better with the nation at-large, than he did with soccer moms.