Poll: Condoleezza Rice top VP choice

WASHINGTON, July 19 (UPI) -- Former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is the top pick for Mitt Romney's running mate among U.S. voters and Republicans, a Fox News poll indicated.

Thirty percent of voters overall listed Rice as their favorite as a possible vice presidential candidate for Romney, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee -- the same percentage as Republicans, results of the Fox News poll released Wednesday said.

Rice, who was secretary of state for President George W. Bush, has indicated no interest in being a vice presidential nominee.

Nineteen percent of Republicans said they preferred Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, while 8 percent said they favored either New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie or Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, results indicated. Three percent said Ohio Sen. Rob Portman and 2 percent said former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty -- both reportedly high on Romney's short list -- were their choices.

Asked about their preferred attributes in a running mate, 32 percent of Republicans said they want a "true conservative," followed by 17 percent saying they want someone with military experience. Results also indicated 11 percent said they wanted a female running mate, 10 percent said a moderate and 7 percent said a foreign policy expert.

Results are based on nationwide interviews with 901 registered voters conducted from Sunday through Tuesday. The margin of error is 3 percentage points for the total sample and 5 percentage points for the Republican sample..