The final candidate on our Veepstakes shortlist is the junior U.S. Senator from South Dakota, John Thune.  Senator Thune began his career as a legislative aide to the late Senator James Abdnor, who served as South Dakota’s Senator from 1981 till 1987.  Abdnor was defeated by Tom Daschle in 1986, and Thune subsequently took up a post in President Reagan’s Small Business Administration before returning [...]

The next candidate in our Veepstakes series is Garden State Governor, Chris Christie.  Governor Christie began his career as a lawyer in New Jersey, before his appointment as New Jersey’s Attorney General in 2001. In the 2009 gubernatorial election, Christie defeated incumbent John Corzine 48.5 percent to 44.9 percent. The tech community is a keen supporter of a lower corporate tax rate, investment [...]

Next up in our Veepstakes series, we look at Kelly Ayotte, the freshman Senator from New Hampshire.  Senator Ayotte began her career clerking for a Justice in New Hampshire’s Supreme Court.  She then served in several posts in the state’s Attorney General’s Office, where she was ultimately appointed Attorney General in 2004.  She was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010, winning more than 60 percent [...]

We continue our series examining the potential picks for a Republican vice presidential running-mate with a look at Paul Ryan.  Representative Ryan was first elected in 1998 to represent Wisconsin’s First District in the U.S. House of Representatives, and he currently serves as the Chairman of the House Budget Committee.  Ryan is a well-known policy wonk and is the House Republicans’ point person on [...]

Continuing our focus on possible running mates for Governor Romney, we look at Governor Bob McDonnell of Virginia and analyze where he stands on tech issues. Bob McDonnell was elected as Virginia’s governor in November 2009, after serving seven terms in Virginia’s House of Delegates, and four years as the state’s Attorney General. Governor McDonnell recognized that incentivizing innovation is crucial, [...]

In this segment of Veepstakes, we take a look at the Governor from Louisiana, Bobby Jindal.  Governor Jindal is seen by many political experts as a future presidential nominee for the Republican Party, and is widely believed to be on Mitt Romney’s shortlist for running mate.  Despite being only 41 years old, he has worked in the George W. Bush Administration as an advisor to the Secretary of Health [...]

Next up in our series looking at the potential Republican Party vice presidential candidates is the freshman U.S. Senator from Florida, Marco Rubio.  Even before he arrived in Washington in 2010, Senator Rubio was already seen by many as a rising star in his party and national politics.  Let’s look at where he stands on issues of importance to the tech community. Senator Rubio has been an outspoken [...]

We continue our look at the people reported to be on Governor Mitt Romney’s shortlist for a running mate, and where those women and men stand on job-creating issues that matter to the tech community.  Today, we focus on Rob Portman, the junior U.S. Senator from Ohio, and former United States Trade Representative (USTR) and Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under President George [...]

As speculation swirls about who Governor Mitt Romney will select as his running mate, we are taking a closer look at the oft-reported shortlist, and highlight their stances on the issues that are important to the tech community.  We begin with former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.  And be sure to chime in with your thoughts on who would make the best running mate for Governor Romney. At the end of [...]