Chris Christie Popular with People Who Don't Know Chris Christie

Like it or not, Mitt Romney will be the GOP nominee. So, let the widly inaccurate VP speculation begin!

Some pundits say Romney will choose Ohio senator and boring name-holder Rob Portman. Others, predicting a diverse ticket, say Marco Rubio, Nikki Haley or Bobby "Kenneth the Page" Jindal will be Romney's running mate.

But that's not who The People want. According to a new Quinnipiac poll…

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is the favored running mate for Romney, the poll found, with 31 percent saying he would be a good choice. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio came in at 24 percent. Rep. Paul Ryan had 23 percent.

Chris Christie's popularity among the general electorate makes sense. They know nothing about Chris Christie. He's not as beloved in New Jersey, where voters are familiar with his decision to raise tolls, kill a popular NYC tunnel project and permit a typo that  cost the state $400 million in education funding. (Although, as a New Jersey politician, he does get points for not being involved in a bribery scandal or shady real estate deal.)

Among GOP voters, who have also had a bit more exposure to Christie, the numbers look very different…

Those results, among the general electorate, differ with a poll of Republicans and right-leaning independents released Wednesday, which found Christie tied with Rubio for third place, behind former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and former senator Rick Santorum.

See? Republicans aren't racist or sexist! They want a black woman in a mostly symbolic role that comes with very little political power. By choosing Condoleezza Rice, Mitt Romney would kill two birds with one stone. Well, in Romney's case, two dogs with one car.

Photo by Michael N. Todaro/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Tags: Chris Christie, Mitt Romney, New Jersey, Polls, Veepstakes