Rice, like many of the convention’s headlining speakers, was once speculated to be one of Mitt Romney’s possible vice presidential picks. Rice strongly denied interest in the position. Nevertheless, while some conservatives swooned, others, opposing Rice’s more lenient stance on abortion, said no way.
Mitt Romney promised conservative supporters that his chosen running mate would be anti-abortion at the Palmetto Freedom Forum last year. He followed through in his socially conservative pick of Paul Ryan.