Report: Mitch Daniels to be Purdue's next president
(CBS News) Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, often named as a potential vice presidential pick for Republican Mitt Romney, will be Purdue University's next president, CBS affiliate WISH-TV reports.
The university plans to vote on Daniels' candidacy next week and will reportedly appoint an interim president so the Republican governor can carry out the rest of his term, which ends in January. Daniels' office declined to comment to CBS News on the report.
The two-term governor is popular among both his constituents and the Republican establishment and endorsed Romney for president in April. However, he's adamantly dismissed reports that he could be Romney's running mate.
"It's not an office I want to hold, expect to hold, have any plans to hold," Daniels told Fox News in May. "We ought to give some time to public service, try to pay back a little rent to this country, but my goal has always been to do the best I could and then go back to private life."
When asked whether the Romney campaign had called him about joining the ticket, Daniels said, "If I thought that call was coming, I would disconnect the phone."
President Obama carried Indiana in 2008 by one point, but the state -- which leans Republican -- is expected to go to Romney this year.
