Let’s do the math....
If he wants someone to help him win - that rules out states he already has locked: FL, OH, ND, TX, AR, SC, SD
Which leaves who?
Youngkin - VA
Gabbard - HI
Stefanik - NY
Mace - NC
Of these, I think he wins NC anyway, so Mace is out. Take your pick from the other three.
Being from a state does not guarantee getting a state’s electoral votes.
In this particular election the VP nominee is both critically important and absolutely irrelevant.
It is critically important because it gives a leg up on GOP leadership in 2028 and beyond.
It is absolutely irrelevant because President Trump is the elephant in the room for voters—vastly overshadows whoever the VP is.
On that basis I would focus on the future leadership issue and ignore state location.
Youngkin
Mace is SC. she’s awful anyway. really unstable woman if you ask me (and slutty)
I think it will be Ben Carson or JDV
You think Stefanik would help him win NY? She was elected in one GOP district, it's not like she has won a statewide race. And Trump is from the most populous part of that state, where he would need to win more voters. I can't see her helping him in NY, it's not like she's popular in NYC.
It's not the state of a VP candidate that matters as much as the demographic group(s) they appeal to.
This is why the prospective Trump VP candidates in the conversation have included a disproportionate number of women and minorities.
Of these, I think he wins NC anyway, so Mace is out. Take your pick from the other three.
This may be the wrong political calculation. Trump is unlikely to win HI or NY, and if he did, it would indicate a landslide so great that the matter of his running mate would be largely inconsequential. Some candidates may (or may not) attract undecided votes that would otherwise not go to Trump.
A mini-Trump will be limited in their ability to attract votes which otherwise would not go to Trump.
Sarah Huckabee was highly regarded as a press secretary. Elise Stefanik is also an attractive candidate.
Tulsi Gabbard carries the same original sin as Trump and Reagan; she was a Democrat. She is a recent convert to the Republican party and is liberal on some issues. She would not please extreme MAGA Republicans, but she would likely be a net positive on the popular vote, attracting some voters sitting on the fence. Put Tulsi on the same stage as Kamala and she would have a commanding presence. Of course, at this time nobody knows who will be on the Democratic ticket in November. Sarah Huckabee and Elise Stefanik would also contrast well against Word Salad Harris.
Marco Rubio would likely add Hispanic votes. Trump can easily change his primary residence to his 2,000 plus square foot cottage in Bedminster, NJ and run his campaign out of NJ again. Any constitutional problem is a mirage. In July 2000, Dick Cheney traveled from Texas to Wyoming and became a resident of Wyoming to run with George W. Bush in November.
Similarly, Ron DeSantis could go on the ticket.
For a black candidate, the most viable that I see would be Byron Donalds or perhaps Tim Scott.
J.D. Vance may be the front runner with his attractive life story having been told in a bestselling and award winning book, Hillbilly Elegy, and popular Netflix movie. That makes for general name recognization across party or state lines.
If the election is a landslide, the running mate is not a determinative factor. If the election is a tossup or very close, then the first rule of politics comes into play—first, get elected. The object would not be to see who would make the most conservative ticket, but who would make the most electable ticket. That would probably indicate including a woman or minority candidate. Two white guys is generally not the best for outreach. The name recognition of J.D. Vance could make him the exception to that generalization.