Before Marco Rubio: A History of Florida Politicians Who Almost Were Vice Presidential Candidates

Given Florida's swing state importance, large population and Southern-but-not-quite status, you'd think that someone from this state would have been on a national presidential ticket by now, at least as a running mate.

The media is currently rife with speculation that Senator Marco Rubio could be Mitt Romney's veep choice. We've seen this all before. Several prominent Florida politicians have been buzzed about as possible VP in the past half century only to find themselves without the job.

Governor Charlie Crist: John McCain, 2008.
After endorsing McCain in Florida, a move that many believe helped McCain lock up the nomination, Crist was floated as a possible running mate. At the time, he was a popular governor who appealed to independents and even some Democrats. Crist was even flown into McCain's ranch for an informal get-together to address their chemistry, and many believe Crist was openly auditioning for the spot (ironically Rubio would use Crist's "ambition" as a line of attack in their later Senate showdown). However, McCain infamously ended up picking Sarah Palin.

Senator Connie Mack III: Bob Dole, 1996 and George W. Bush, 2000.
Mack was considered by many media outlets to be at the top of Bob Dole's VP list in '96. Even eventual running mate Jack Kemp publicly predicted a Dole-Mack ticket. Though, Dole surprised many by picking Kemp, who was much lower on the speculative list in the media's eyes at least, instead.

Four years later Mack was also buzzed about as a possible running mate for George W. Bush. Dick Cheney, who was running Bush's VP search, recently revealed in his memoir that Mack however actually turned down a chance to be officially considered. Cheney himself of course ended up taking the job.