GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney has narrowed the field of candidates to be his running mate come November — and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has emerged as the frontrunner, according to a new report, New York post said.

The Drudge Report reported that Rice has made Romney's short list of VP considerations and that an announcement is now set for sometime in the "coming weeks."

Rice, 57, worked under former President George W. Bush as National Security Advisor from 2001 to 2005. In Bush's second term, she replaced Colin Powell and served as Secretary of State until 2009.

On Thursday July 12 night, just as Drudge was reporting the story, the Romney camp sent out an email blast with the subject line "Mitt's VP." In the email, campaign manager Matt Rhoades announced a new contest to meet Romney and his future vice presidential pick, hinting that Romney would be making a decision sooner rather than later.

Rice herself made a plea for new White House leadership, saying in an email to supporters: "2012 is perhaps a turning point for the United States. The upcoming elections loom as one of the most important in my lifetime."

Rice also said, "I'm very often asked to speak about our current foreign policy and the challenges that lie before us. However, we, as a country, are not going to be able to address any of those international challenges unless we first get our domestic house in order."

The report comes two weeks after Romney's wife disclosed that he's considering choosing a woman to be his running mate.