It should come to no surprise that Senator Rob Portman's (R-OH) name has been on the short list of Republican Vice Presidential candidates, yet the former Office of Management and Budget (OMB) director's prospects on social media have been less well known.  During months of speculation, the Portman buzz has risen, fallen, and apparently, fallen again following a brief upsurge in chatter last week.

According to OhMyGov Analytics, over 1,000 references to Portman were recorded on Twitter between June 14 and June 20. Most of the talk seems neutral, with a lot of it centering on the supposed veep-to-be Portman and wife Jane's pancake-making skills during a recent campaign stop by Romney in Ohio.

"Jane and I are serving pancakes, and Ohio maple syrup with Mitt Romney in Brunswick," Portman tweeted June 17. "rain cleared up. Sun is shining. Happy Father's Day!"

But there was more than pancake making going on as Portman auditioned for the No. 2. According to Jim Heath of ONN, Romney and Portman were greeted by protesters chanting 'hands off our birth control!"

Portman, who once told an audience of conservatives that his decision to turn down a job in the first George Bush's administration to spend time with his terminally ill mother--has never been shy about his support of religious groups' rights. His sponsorship of the Blunt Amendment, which would have allowed Catholic hospitals and other religious institutions not to supply contraceptive medication, was narrowly defeated in the Senate earlier this year.

Yet the contraceptive mandate was far from the minds of some Twitter users last week.

"UPI tells me Portman, Pawlenty under Romney review," @AlienEnchanter wrote, tweeting an article from the news service.

"Ohio Sen. Portman to raise fundraise for NHGOP," WMUR political columnist @JamesPindell said, including an article of his own about an upcoming visit by Portman to the Granite State.

Even with the recent acknowledgment that Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) is being vetted, the VP guessing game continues to dominate the discussion online and in the press with all eyes now on former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty.

But that hasn't dampened Portman's hard core supporters.

"I've picked Rob Portman from the start," @MSalasBlair tweeted. "Guess we'll see..."