Pick for vice president could make or break Donald Trump's hopes of defeating Hillary Clinton.
Donald Trump's pick for vice president could make or break his hopes of defeating Hillary Clinton in the US election. But who's being vetted and who actually wants the job is another question.
The New York businessman has spoken of his desire to find a seasoned politician who can help force legislation through Congress and offset his lack of political experience.
A sensible choice might help overcome the shortcomings of a 70-year-old who has never held elected office and lags an average of nearly five percentage points behind Clinton in national polls.
Yet the wrong pick could restrict his support base or alienate moderate and independent voters.
Trump sent the rumor mill into overdrive this week by meeting Indiana Governor Mike Pence and Iowa Senator Joni Ernst, campaigning with Tennessee Senator Bob Corker and dishing out praise for Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton.
Here is a look at the chief candidates considered in the running with Trump expected to decide before the Republican National Convention begins on July 18.
Chris Christie, 53Often described as a political bruiser, the New Jersey governor was the first Republican heavyweight to endorse Trump way back in February after abandoning his own bid for the White House.
His chief asset was winning two elections in a largely Democratic state -- a cross-party appeal that could come in handy in a deeply divided Congress.
The former federal prosecutor is already in charge of Trump's transition team, should he win in November, and he is a staunch defender of the man he calls a "friend," including against allegations that Trump is racist.
But Christie's popularity plummeted in the "bridgegate" traffic scandal. An investigation officially cleared the governor of wrongdoing, but his aides shut down lanes on a busy route into New York, allegedly to punish a Democrat mayor for failing to support their boss's re-election.
The New York Times also says relations are strained between Christie and Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law, because Christie was on the prosecution team that jailed Kushner's father for corruption in 2005.
Newt Gingrich, 73Trump-Gingrich would be the oldest ticket in US politics: two septuagenarians competing for the millennial vote in 21st century America.
Gingrich packs the political punch that Trump lacks. He was in Congress for 20 years and speaker of the House of Representatives from 1995-99 during Bill Clinton's presidency.
A failed presidential candidate in 2012, he is now a political consultant who has advised Trump for months. Crucially, he says he is willing to serve as vice president, but he is also not afraid to criticize Trump.
But for all his name recognition, he is a polarizing figure and as an aging white male brings nothing new to the support base. Like Trump, he has also been married three times to the displeasure of conservatives.
Mike Pence, 57The Indiana governor and former radio host served six terms representing his home state in Congress. A fiscal conservative and lawyer by training, he was House Republican Conference chairman from 2009-11.
Trump spent time with Pence and his family -- the governor is married with three adult children -- over the Independence Day weekend.
"Very impressed, great people!" he tweeted with customary gusto.
His staunch defense of family values and core Republican beliefs could appeal to conservatives put off by the billionaire's tabloid divorces and more socially liberal views. On the downside, he may not attract swing voters.
Tom Cotton, 39An outside choice as currently the youngest US senator, he was only elected in November 2014 and lacks the political weight that Trump is likely to favor.
Nonetheless he is a rising Republican star. Educated at Harvard, he joined the Army after the September 11, 2001 attacks serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Joni Ernst, 46Trump lavished praise on Ernst after meeting her on Independence Day, saying she had done "a fantastic job" for Iowa and America.
A veteran who served as a company commander in Kuwait and Iraq in 2003, she became the first woman elected to the Senate from the key swing state of Iowa in November 2014.
The senator says she had a "good conversation" with Trump but appeared to rule herself out in an interview with Politico published Wednesday. "I feel that I have a lot more to do in the United States Senate," she said.
Bob Corker, 63The chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee ruled himself in an interview with The Washington Post.
"I think I'm far more suited for other types of things," he told the newspaper. A relative unknown on the national stage, his foreign policy credentials and bipartisan experience had earmarked him as a possible contender.