Other names that have come to the fore including former Reading boss Steve Coppell who quit last month, Jordi Cruyff, the current assistant manager at Maltese side Valetta and outgoing Real Sociedad coach Juan Lillo.
Both outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and outgoing Foreign Minister (and Kadima leader) Tzipi Livni have made it clear they will side with the U.S. and Europe against their own government.
Early on, the perception was that Merrill was hurt because he was not a member of the national committee, but the outgoing governor has run an aggressive campaign and some GOP operatives believe that he has momentum on his side.