Herman Cain hints about who he’d pick for veep

Herman Cain announces his run for Republican candidate for president at a rally Saturday, May 21, 2011 in Atlanta. Cain has run a pizza chain, hosted a talk radio show and sparred with Bill Clinton over health care. He's never held elected office. Now the tea party favorite wants to be president. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Herman Cain says he has three people in mind for who he’d choose as his running mate if he wins the Republican nomination for president.

“Two of them are in Washington now,” he said. “But they sort of buck the establishment a lot.”

Cain, a Republican running for president, made the comments in response to a question from one of several dozen customers at Sal’s Pizza here on Sunday.

He said type of person he would want as his vice president is “somebody who is courageous” and “not afraid to go against the establishment.”

“They’ll need to understand grassroots, because if they don’t understand grassroots, then they don’t understand what’s happening out there,” he said.

(Newt looks to revive campaign with debate)

He refused to name anyone specifically because he said he doesn’t “want to start rumors and it wouldn’t be fair to them.”

Cain, the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, autographed pizza boxes and also downed a couple slices of the joint’s meat lover’s pizza in front onlookers and cameras.

“I know a little bit about pizza,” he said.