Meet the people who could be Donald Trump's running mate

REUTERS/Scott Audette

Speculation over who Donald Trump might select as his running mate in the 2016 presidential race has reached a fever pitch.

The Manhattan billionaire, who is now the presumptive nominee for the Republican party, recently told The Associated Press that he's down to a list of "five or six people."

"I do think I don't want to make a decision until the actual convention," he said. "Not even before it. I mean, until it."

Trump dropped some hints earlier this year that he would look for someone with experience in government, as opposed to an outsider like himself.

"I would want somebody that could help me with government, so most likely that would be a political person," the real-estate mogul has said.

"You want somebody that can help you with legislation, getting it through."

Trump launched his White House campaign last summer with almost no support from the type of politicians who would fit the description of the word.

After dominating the race month after month, Trump finally started securing endorsements from governors and congressmen whom he could consider for his administration. Now, as the presumptive nominee, he has a lengthy list of potential fits to consider.

Here are a few of the politicians Trump might look to for vice president:

Scott Brown

AP

Brown, a senator from Massachusetts, was the first current or former senator to endorse Trump. He was known in the Senate as a moderate, and he could help win votes from some in the less-conservative wing of the Republican Party.

He has supported abortion rights and is in favor of banning assault weapons, but he carries a blue-collar, populist persona. Brown memorably drove a pickup truck to campaign events during his 2010 Senate run in Massachusetts.

Trump acknowledged that Brown could end up being his pick.

During a January event in New Hampshire, Trump said Brown was cut out of "central casting" and could be his vice president. Brown said at the time that Trump was "the next president of the United States."

Jeff Sessions

AP Photo/John Bazemore

Sessions, of Alabama, was the first sitting senator to endorse Trump — and he has already been tapped to lead Trump's national-security advisory committee.

"A movement is afoot that must not fade away," Sessions said during the Alabama rally where he announced his support earlier this year.

Sessions is one of the staunchest supporters of Trump's hard-line plan to crack down on illegal immigration. The senator could also give Trump credibility in the South.

The longtime Alabama senator said it would be an "honor" to be selected as Trump's vice president, but also said it "sure won't be me."

Paul LePage

AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty

"I was Donald Trump before Donald Trump became popular," LePage, the Maine governor, said while announcing his support for mogul in February on "The Howie Carr Show."

The governor is comparable to Trump when it comes to provocative remarks. In January, LePage found himself at the center of a national firestorm after he made some racially tinged comments about out-of-state drug dealers, who he said come into Maine and "impregnate a young white girl" before leaving.

"Now I get to defend all the good stuff he says," LePage has said of Trump.

LePage also entered politics after a successful business career, but he was reportedly staunchly opposed to Trump's candidacy before suddenly coming on board.

When asked about the possibility of being Trump's vice president, LePage recently joked that "we're too much alike."

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