2011 Irish presidential election "foisted on him and he had not known anything about it and what it would involve". This followed unease among Fianna Fáil parliamentary party Oireachtas members, with a number unhappy that a candidate was being imposed by the leadership without discussion. On 16 August 2011, the "Irish Examiner" reported that Micheál Martin had moved to pull the party out of the presidential race over the fallout from the approach to Gay Byrne, the cost involved and the slim chance of a candidate being elected. On 24 August, however, the party's deputy leader Éamon Ó Cuív told Raidió na Gaeltachta that
2012 Republican Party vice presidential candidate selection fundraising, but this proved untrue. Romney stated that he would select a pro-life vice presidential candidate. According to the book "", Romney's campaign narrowed down his list of potential nominees for Vice President to eleven individuals in April 2012: The list was later further narrowed down to five individuals: Christie, Pawlenty, Portman, Rubio, and Ryan. According to "Double Down", many on Romney's campaign favored Ryan because he was "young, telegenic, Irish Catholic, with blue collar appeal," and could potentially help the campaign in his competitive home state. Romney also personally liked Ryan and felt comfortable campaigning with him. Christie was