As speculation grows around who John McCain will select as his vice presidential running mate next week, Republican National Committee officials said Tuesday that McCain is no longer considering former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge.

Several sources at the RNC told FOX News that in the last 36 hours, senior McCain advisers and aides have told RNC officials that McCain "got the message" last week that choosing a running mate who supports abortion rights would not be helpful.

GOP pundits had been vocal in urging the presumptive presidential nominee not to pick a running mate who supports abortion rights. Ridge, the first homeland security secretary, was said to be on McCain's short list, and the only candidate who explicitly supports abortion rights.

The National Review reported Monday that the McCain campaign has been calling key state Republican officials around the country in recent days to weigh the consequences of picking a candidate who backs abortion rights. The conservative magazine interpreted that as a sign that the McCain campaign is seriously considering Ridge or another abortion rights defender.

"I think it's a hard sell and I don't see much upside to Tom Ridge except for John McCain likes him a lot," National Review Editor Rich Lowry told Fox News Tuesday.

"I don't think he's going to be a big benefit in Pennsylvania and even if he is, I think the downside is the rest of the country among conservatives are going to be upset about this, just at the moment they're beginning to work up being excited about John McCain. "

Conservative commentator David Limbaugh went even further Tuesday, labeling a McCain-Ridge ticket "political suicide."

"If McCain picks a pro-abortionist, he will forfeit his moral authority and political advantage on the issue and might very well be conceding the election to Obama," Limbaugh wrote.

On Saturday, McCain told Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren that he would run an administration based on opposition to abortion. On Sunday, Ridge told Chris Wallace that he believes the Republican Party would support him as a running mate.

"At the end of the day, I think the Republican Party will be comfortable with whatever decision John makes," Ridge said.

Lowry said he thinks the safest choice for McCain is Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, whom he described as "kind of dull" but a reliable choice to satisfy the Republican base.

Click here to read The National Review article on McCain's calls to state GOP officials.

FOX News' Carl Cameron contributed to this report.