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Tim Kaine, Tom Vilsack and Elizabeth Warren are among the leading contenders for Clinton’s VP pick with the Democratic convention days away.
With the Democratic convention just one week away, Hillary Clinton is inching closer to selecting a running mate to go up against the Republican ticket of Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence.While Trump was limited in his options, with few of the Republican party’s national stars willing to join his controversial campaign, a broad range of Democrats are being weighed by Clinton and her campaign. They include governors, senators and Obama administration officials, several of whom have recently met with Clinton in private or stumped alongside her in key battleground states.Clinton is expected to announce her pick later this week, following a thorough vetting process that – unlike Trump’s very public, gameshow-like deliberations – has largely unfolded in secret. Below is a list of candidates to watch as the Democratic ticket takes shape:
1. Tim Kaine
Age: 58
Elected to the US Senate in 2012, Kaine has an extensive background in public office. He served as the governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010 and was previously the state’s lieutenant governor and mayor of Richmond.As a senator, Kaine has built his experience in both foreign and domestic affairs – sitting on the influential armed services and foreign relations committees, as well as the budget committee. He is fluent in Spanish, an attribute Kaine was eager to show off on the stump while campaigning with Clinton in his home state last week.He is a Catholic who holds a reputation of being a more centrist Democrat, which could help appeal to moderate constituencies but could also draw concerns from progressives. Kaine has already begun ramping up his outreach to progressive groups, reaffirming, for example, his support for the landmark Roe v Wade abortion decision.
He would bolster Clinton’s chances in the critical swing state of Virginia, and while he was dubbed a “safe” choice in a poll of political insiders, he was also chosen as the former secretary of state’s best bet.
2. Tom Vilsack, the US secretary of agriculture, is a sleeper candidate who only recently emerged as a top contender to be Clinton’s running mate. He served as the governor of Iowa from 1999 to 2007 and, like Kaine, is regarded as a candidate who could deliver a battleground state while carrying little risk. When confirmed to his current role in the Obama administration, for example, Vilsack won unanimous consent from the Senate
Adopted from a Catholic orphanage and raised in blue collar Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he has a compelling personal story. Vilsack’s ties to the Rust Belt could be especially influential in an election year during which Donald Trump has succeeded in large part by appealing to working-class white voters.
He has had a personal relationship with Clinton over four decades and endorsed her in the 2008 Democratic primary after losing his own bid for the party’s nomination that cycle.
What Vilsack does not bring is an opportunity to expand Clinton’s appeal among any core constituencies, such as minorities, single women or millennials. He also openly supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a landmark trade deal that Clinton came out against amid the Democratic primary after previously backing it herself. Trump has made his opposition to the 12-nation trade pact a cornerstone of his campaign.
3. Sherrod Brown
Age: 63
The US senator from Ohio is immensely popular among progressives and also brings to the table a chance to carry a must-win battleground state. Prior to his tenure in the Senate, Brown served in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2006.
Brown is said to have a rapport with Clinton and could help broaden her support among the same blue collar voters being wooed by Trump. Brown is also a vocal opponent of free trade deals, which could help counter skepticism with respect to Clinton’s position on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. But it could also renew a spotlight on Nafta, the trade deal signed by her husband Bill Clinton, which Brown fiercely advocated against.
One key disadvantage to Brown’s prospects is that Democrats would lose his Senate seat, since he is not up for re-election in November. Ohio governor John Kasich, a Republican, would name his temporary replacement.
4. Elizabeth Warren
Age: 67
Elected to the Senate less than four years ago, Warren has established herself as a progressive icon and national star within the Democratic party. She was critical in setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the government watchdog agency established as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform passed in the aftermath of the 2008 economic collapse.Warren, who was a law professor at Harvard for nearly two decades, is also already a chief antagonist to Donald Trump. The senator has emerged in recent months as one of the Democrats’ best attack dogs against the real estate mogul, a trait she revelled in when joining Clinton on the campaign trail in Ohio last month. She would also join Clinton in making history if chosen, marking the first all-female presidential ticket in US history.
Elected to the Senate less than four years ago, Warren has established herself as a progressive icon and national star within the Democratic party. She was critical in setting up the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the government watchdog agency established as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform passed in the aftermath of the 2008 economic collapse.Warren, who was a law professor at Harvard for nearly two decades, is also already a chief antagonist to Donald Trump. The senator has emerged in recent months as one of the Democrats’ best attack dogs against the real estate mogul, a trait she revelled in when joining Clinton on the campaign trail in Ohio last month. She would also join Clinton in making history if chosen, marking the first all-female presidential ticket in US history.
There are nonetheless challenges facing Warren, including her personal chemistry with Clinton. While the two recently put aside their previous differences, Warren was openly critical in the past of Clinton’s ties to Wall Street and corporate America. She notably did not endorse Clinton until the conclusion of the Democratic primary. And while Warren would galvanize progressive voters, it’s unclear if she would appeal to moderates – or whether her own agenda is suitable to the supporting role of a vice president.
5. Cory Booker
Age: 47
Booker became a prominent figure within the Democratic party as the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, where he built a following on social media while often tending to his constituents needs on the ground.
Booker became a prominent figure within the Democratic party as the mayor of Newark, New Jersey, where he built a following on social media while often tending to his constituents needs on the ground.
One of just two African Americans in the US Senate, Booker is a leading advocate of criminal justice reform. Clinton has made the issue a central tenet of her 2016 campaign, but has at times been hounded by Bill Clinton’s tough-on-crime policies in the 1990s. Booker could be an influential counterweight, particularly as criminal justice and race relations take center stage with just three months remaining until the election.
Booker is a skilled campaigner who, like Kaine, speaks fluent Spanish. He does not, however, bring anything to the electoral map with New Jersey decidedly in the Democratic column. And, like Brown, he would be replaced for the remainder of his term by a Republican, with Chris Christie currently serving as New Jersey’s governor.
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