Speculation about who will be the running mate with Mitt Romney has picked up. One possibility has taken himself off the list of possible candidates, another has taken a more centralized role in the overall campaign and a third has seen Romney consider him a serious contender.

His field of choices narrowed last Tuesday as friends and Republican officials of Mitch Daniels the Indiana Governor said he would accept the position as the President of Purdue University. His selection to be the president was reported by a number of newspapers in Indiana.

Marco Rubio, the freshman Senator from Florida and a popular choice for conservatives said he was not being pursued by the Romney campaign and Romney pushed aside a question about Rubio at an appearance during the week.

Attention has become more and more focused on Tim Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota and at one time a primary foe of Romney. Of the elected officials who have joined Romney during a recent campaign tour of six states, Pawlenty stood out the most to leaders of the party, as they started handicapping the possible choices for the ticket.

Some of the insiders in the Romney campaign have said Pawlenty has been impressive during his work in the campaign, as a representative for Romney. They claim he has also given very good interviews. Moreover, the background of Pawlenty as a truck driver’s son from St. Paul is a counterweight to the wealthy Romney. He could also potentially help Romney in Iowa and Minnesota, two important battleground states.