Contrary to popular belief, the United States Constitution does not ban two people from the same state from running on one presidential ticket. But it does make life complicated for that state’s electors. Under the 12th Amendment, each member of the Electoral College – the people who actually vote for president and vice president – must vote for at least one candidate who is not an inhabitant of that elector’s state.
So in 2000, when former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney prepared to join the Republican ticket with then-Texas Gov. George W. Bush, he changed his residency from Texas to his native Wyoming, where he already owned a home. Problem solved.
Bush and Rubio don’t have such an easy out. Bush has lived in Florida for decades; Rubio has lived there pretty much his whole life. One of them can’t just up and “move.”
And the Republican Party can hardly afford to forgo Florida’s 29 electoral votes.
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