A new CNN survey of Republican voter preferences for Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate finds Condoleeza Rice with 26% support, ahead of Rick Santorum at 21%, Marco Rubio at 14%, Chris Christie at 14%, and Paul Ryan at 8%.

Dan Amira: “Rice hasn’t been considered a very plausible contender in the Mitt Romney veepstakes so far, and perhaps with good reason. Rice was a central figure in the Bush administration, particularly in terms of homeland security and foreign policy, which are most prominently defined by the worst terrorist attack in American history and a widely unpopular war, respectively. And if the Obama campaign decides to portray a potential Romney presidency as a retread of the Bush years, putting one of Bush’s closest advisers on the ticket would be a big help.”

While recent polls may disagree on whether President Obama or Mitt Romney is leading, Mark Blumenthal notes they all show both candidates getting an average of 88% to 90% support from members of their own parties.

John Sides:
“Remember when Obama was going to lose the support of all those Democrats dissatisfied with his weak-kneed compromises? And remember how Romney was going to struggle to win over the base because, like, ‘Anybody but Romney’ was 75% of the GOP? Well, here it is only April, and the bases are basically unified.”

“I mean, it’s going to be the dirtiest campaign you’ve ever seen. I would say: Hide the children and check the plumbing because you’re going to have to shower several times a day.”

— Charles Krauthammer, in an interview on Fox News.

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Despite a dismal 36% approval rating, a new Public Policy Polling survey finds Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) continues to lead all of his potential Republican opponents by double digits.

Nelson leads Connie Mack (R) 47% to 37%, tops Mike McCalister (R) 47% to 35% and beat George LeMieux (R) 48% to 34%.

Most interesting: An astounding 33% of voters have no opinion about Nelson even after 12 years in the Senate.

A new Democracy Corps survey in the 56 most-competitive Republican held congressional districts finds President Obama now edging Mitt Romney, 48% to 47%. In December, Obama trailed by seven points.

Key finding: “Democrats are winning the image battle, up and down the ticket. While half of the voters in these districts register cool feelings toward the Republican Party and Republican Congress, the Democratic Party has enjoyed an 8-point bump in favorability since September 2011, and Democrats in Congress have seen a 7-point rise.”

Also interesting: “The Ryan budget is in trouble. Just 41% support it in these Republican districts with no description other than the fact that it cuts spending. When described, including using Ryan’s own language, support collapses to 34%.”

A new Dan Jones & Associates poll of Utah Republican state delegates shows Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) is on the cusp winning 60% at this weekend’s state Republican Party Convention, and thus winning his record-setting seventh nomination.

It Hatch gets 60% at the convention, he’ll avoid a June 26 Republican primary against Dan Liljenquist (R).

Jon Karl takes a look at the possible contenders to be Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate.

Top Tier: Rob Portman, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush

Second Tier: Chris Christie, Mitch Daniels, Bob McDonnell, Paul Ryan

Women: Kelly Ayotte, Mary Fallin, Nikki Haley, Susana Martinez

Others: John Thune, Jim DeMint, Tim Pawlenty

Tom Friedman urges New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to run for president this year as an independent.

“Bloomberg doesn’t have to win to succeed — or even stay in the race to the very end. Simply by running, participating in the debates and doing respectably in the polls — 15 to 20 percent — he could change the dynamic of the election and, most importantly, the course of the next administration, no matter who heads it. By running on important issues and offering sensible programs for addressing them — and showing that he had the support of the growing number of Americans who describe themselves as independents — he would compel the two candidates to gravitate toward some of his positions as Election Day neared. And, by taking part in the televised debates, he could impose a dose of reality on the election that would otherwise be missing. Congress would have to take note.”

A new Tribune Review/Susquehanna Research survey finds Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA) leading Rep. Mark Critz (D-PA) in their primary showdown, 43% to 39%.

The winner will face Keith Rothfus (R) in the fall election.

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) plans to air “positive” television ads in the coming weeks “as he looks to bolster his approval ratings and remind viewers of Virginia’s successes following a spate of bad publicity,” the Washington Post reports.

McDonnell is term-limited and can’t run for re-election in Virginia but the move indicates he’s very serious about boosting his image in a key battleground state in advance of Mitt Romney’s running mate selection.

Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) may be rooting for the Red Sox against the Yankees this weekend, but Yankees president Randy Levine donated the maximum $2,500 to the senator’s re-election campaign last month, the Boston Herald reports.

“That’s right, the commander of the Evil Empire is helping to pay for all those Brown ads championing his support of the Red Sox.”

“Many progressive donors think President Obama has it in the bag. But he doesn’t even have it in the shopping cart yet, much less in the bag.”

— Paul Begala, in an interview with Greg Sargent, saying Democratic donors need to step up.

Charles Mahtesian
believes that Rep. Allen West (R-FL), best known for his strong Tea
Party affiliation and controversial attacks on Democrats, is likely to
run for president in 2016 or 2020.

“The conservative congressman
hasn’t explicitly said as much, but he’s following a path blazed by
Michele Bachmann, Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul… Thanks to Internet and
direct mail fundraising and the national platform offered by cable news
shows, even a House backbencher can now build a well-financed national
following. And Barack Obama’s victory, just four years removed from the
Illinois state Senate, suggests the boundaries surrounding the question
of office-holding experience have been erased.”