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The Romney campaign announced Tuesday that it will alert Mitt Romney's supporters of his pick for vice president via smartphone app, renewing speculation about a potential VP and Mr. Romney鈥檚 timeline for announcing the decision.

The great mentioning game for the Republican vice presidential slot has featured the same few names over and over: Tim Pawlenty, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal, Mitch Daniels, Rob Portman, even Condoleezza Rice. But there鈥檚 a candidate that Romney should be considering, someone who could help him with the Jewish vote, gain him support in a crucial swing state, and give him an exciting surprise selection bounce: Eric Cantor, the majority leader of the House of Representatives.

But Mr. Cantor, the strongest pick for Romney, isn鈥檛 even listed on otherwise exhaustive set of 26 possibilities, which even includes such unimaginable choices as Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, and Ron Paul.

Why reach way back into the obscurity of the House of Representatives to Cantor, passing over so many able governors and senators, most with much bigger national name recognition?

For starters, Cantor is sharp, and knows all the major national issues. Picking a governor always involves a steep learning curve as he or she gets a crash course in national and international issues. There would be no Palin moments with Cantor. Sunday talk-show firing lines come easy to Cantor.

At the same time, like Sarah Palin, Cantor would be almost a completely fresh face for most Americans, and a young and attractive face at that. He鈥檚 got nerd-chic, and that may be just the right image for economic hard times.

Cantor also comes from a crucial swing state, Virginia, and his name on the GOP ticket would make it a lot easier for Romney to carry the Old Dominion. Romney almost has to have Virginia in order to get to the White House, and it is well within reach. Cantor would probably seal the deal. And having a Southerner will help throughout the region, particularly for Romney, who did so poorly in the southern Republican primaries in both 2008 and 2012.

Cantor has also shown an ability to raise money on the national scale, which will come in handy, as Romney will surely reject public financing in the fall.

And Cantor鈥檚 been tested and investigated. He seems clean as a whistle, and that is a priceless asset in a running mate today.

Then, there鈥檚 the coup de grace of the Cantor candidacy: the Jewish vote. American Jews are overwhelmingly leaning for Obama, even after all the strains in the US-Israel relationship during Obama鈥檚 first term. I doubt Cantor could get Romney anywhere near a majority of the Jewish vote. But in the crucial state of Florida, where Jewish voters comprise a vital bloc, Cantor鈥檚 heritage could swing a lot of votes.

Will Jews cross party lines to vote for a Republican just because he shares their faith? It鈥檚 tough to know for sure, as the vast majority of Jewish politicians have been Democrats (of the 37 Jews in Congress today, the only Republican is Cantor). But Romney doesn鈥檛 need (and will never get) a majority of the Jewish vote. In states like Florida and Pennsylvania, he just needs to reduce Obama鈥檚 support among this small but high-turnout demographic.

Political experts were surprised in 2000 by the that vice presidential candidate Joe Lieberman generated among Jews in Florida. Cantor would be ideally positioned to exploit Obama鈥檚 weakness among some Jewish supporters of Israel.

But how could Romney, a Mormon who has not been a favorite with much of the evangelical 海角大神 wing of his party, pick as his running mate a candidate from another minority religion? Might he run the danger of offending those within the Republican base who insist that America is 鈥渁 海角大神 nation鈥�?

The truth is, conservative 海角大神s are currently gaga for conservative Jews. The most fundamentalist 海角大神s see strong support for Jewish Israel as a Biblical pact that America must uphold. In my own research, I鈥檝e found that right-wing 海角大神s are more supportive of Israeli settlements in the West Bank than are American Jews.

A Cantor selection could thus be an unusual but effective way to shore up Romney鈥檚 support with a vital base element of the GOP. And Cantor has checked all the required ideological boxes that will hurt some of his competitors. He鈥檚 got a 100 percent pro-life rating from the National Right to Life Committee, and an A rating from the National Rifle Association.

And unlike many others Romney is considering, Cantor wasn鈥檛 part of the disastrous Bush presidency, so he鈥檚 untainted by association with a damaged brand. Sen. Rob Portman (R) of Ohio only wishes he could say as much. When we was Representative Portman, he served as "facilitator" between the House and the聽George W. Bush White House.

A final reason to pick Cantor has to do with governing. A president Romney, who now brags that he鈥檚 never served in Washington, might want to know how things get done come January 2013. It won鈥檛 hurt him to have by his side someone who has served in Congress for more than a decade.

So will Romney pick Cantor? It seems unlikely at this point. But he deserves to be in the great mentioning game, and it would be the smartest pick.

Jeremy D. Mayer is an associate professor in the School of Public Policy at George Mason University where he also directs the masters program in public policy.