Washington D.C., Aug 19, 2008 / 17:10 pm
Presumptive Republican nominee and Arizona Sen. John McCain will reportedly announce his running mate pick on August 29, his 72nd birthday, at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, UPI reports.
His leading choices reportedly include former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.
"McCain views this as the one decision that he has total, utter, non-negotiable control over," one campaign official told the Washington publication Politico.
Pawlenty was raised Catholic but now attends an evangelical Protestant church.
McCain recently said that he would not rule out a running mate favorable to abortion rights. Romney had a pro-abortion record as governor but professes to have become pro-life.
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama is also expected to announce his running mate choice soon, amNewYork reports. amNewYork lists possible choices as Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, and Rhode Island Sen. Jack Reed.
amNewYork describes Gov. Kaine as a “religious Catholic” and Sen. Reed as a “devout Catholic.”
Sen. Biden, too, is reportedly Catholic, yet all three Catholic Democratic contenders are supportive of abortion rights.