Sanders has some work to do to win the Democratic nomination, but for the sake of entertaining ourselves, there’s no harm in wondering who would make a good vice-presidential running mate.
And maybe it’s not too early to discuss. Traditionally, candidates wait until they’ve won the nomination to pick a running mate but there have been exceptions. Picking a running mate to campaign with him earlier in the process could boost the Sanders campaign.
Please suggest names I didn’t include in the poll. For my poll picks, I’m assuming the days of the Democratic party nominating a ticket of two white men are over. Some of the names I’m suggesting aren’t announced Sanders supporters yet but we know how quickly those things change.
Some ideas.
Hilda Solis — Former Obama Labor Secretary, Congresswoman and current member of the Los Angeles board of supervises with focus on labor and environmental justice.
Betty McCollum — A strongly progressive Congresswoman from the Minnesota.
Luis Gutiérrez — Progressive Illinois Congressman known as top leader on immigration reform.
Susan Rice — Obama’s National Security Adviser and former ambassador to the UN.
Elizabeth Warren — Senator from Massachusetts you may have heard of.
Deval Patrick — Former Governor of Massachusetts.
Hillary Clinton — Unity ticket.
Julian Castro — HUD Secretary and former San Antonio mayor.
Kate Brown — Governor of Oregon.
Cory Booker — Senator from New Jersey and former mayor of Newark.
Anthony Romero — Executive Director of the ACLU — because freedom.
Kathy Castor — Progressive Congresswoman from Florida.
Anthony Foxx — Transportation Secretary and former mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina.
Raúl Grijalva — Nevada Congressman who co-chairs the progressive caucus.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz — Hey, why not. She represents a major swing state.