‘Veepstakes’ may this time be the polls trump card
Donald Trump. His emergence as the Republican presidential candidate has shocked much of the world, and that’s partly because many consumers of the news media were assured by countless commentators that the day of Trump’s victory would never come. FILE PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
Some analysts argue Clinton has the Hispanic vote sewn up and should focus on a more volatile bloc: White men.
Asked on NBC whom Trump should pick, former Republican VP Dan Quayle immediately answered Portman, the 60-year-old senator from swing state Ohio.
Trump has said there is a 40 per cent chance he will name a nomination rival as running mate.
WASHINGTON, Sunday
America’s “veepstakes” are under way. Running mates have not played a decisive role in winning the White House in a generation; will they now?
Democrat Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid is lackluster compared to the Donald Trump spectacle, but the ex-secretary of state could give her campaign a jolt with an inspired choice of running mate. Trump has perhaps the opposite problem; the brash billionaire has never held elected office, and he is believed to be considering seasoned politicians who could provide gravitas to a high-octane campaign.
Here are some potential VPs:
BERNIE SANDERS
Clinton’s nomination rival has passionate followers. She could also embrace parts of 74-year-old’s “political revolution” — fighting income inequality, which has been his campaign lynchpin.
But his being a democratic-socialist could trigger alarm bells.
“One thing the Democrats have to worry about is unintentionally mobilising the Republicans by picking someone scary as vice-president” so that GOP voters say “’I’ll hold my nose and vote for Trump,’” political science professor Michael Munger of Duke University told AFP.
ELIZABETH WARREN
The feisty Massachusetts senator is a liberal superstar who can transfer the Sanders allegiance in a heartbeat.
The 66-year-old consumer protection advocate’s supporters have pressed her to run for president.
Would two women on the ticket turn off male voters?
“Probably a good chunk of the voters who would be offended by two women are already lost,” said St Louis University professor Joel Goldstein.
JULIAN CASTRO
Having helped Clinton to appeal to young voters and Hispanics, the former San Antonio mayor and current secretary of housing and urban development earned early VP buzz.
At 41, he would be the fourth youngest VP. But when asked by CNN if he could be Clinton’s running mate, he said “that’s not going to happen.”
TIM KAINE
“A combination of Castro and Warren, that might be what you’re looking for,” said Munger, citing Warren’s firebrand style and Castro’s fresh-faced charisma. Enter Tim Kaine. The ex-Virginia governor, 58, sits on the Senate foreign relations and armed services committees. He is popular in a swing state, speaks fluent Spanish and was on Obama’s 2008 shortlist.
MODERATE GOVERNOR
Some analysts argue Clinton has the Hispanic vote sewn up and should focus on a more volatile bloc: White men.
Virginia Senator Mark Warner, 61, is a moderate former governor.
Tom Vilsack, 65, was governor of Iowa for eight years and is secretary of agriculture. Charlie Crist, 59, is a former governor of Florida, perhaps the biggest battleground state.
ROB PORTMAN
Asked on NBC whom Trump should pick, former Republican VP Dan Quayle immediately answered Portman, the 60-year-old senator from swing state Ohio.
With a calm temperament, the opposite of Trump’s, he was US Trade Representative and director of the Office of Management and Budget under George W Bush.
NEWT GINGRICH
The 1995-1999 speaker of the House of Representatives has broad name recognition — he ran for president in 2012 — and has vast knowledge of Congress.
Gingrich, 72, endorsed Trump and told Fox News he was in the “not no” column for the veepstakes.
BEN CARSON
Trump has said there is a 40 per cent chance he will name a nomination rival as running mate.
Retired neurosurgeon Carson, 64, now in his inner circle, was tasked with helping to find potential VP picks, and having been the only African-American in the race, he could help with minority issues.
JOHN KASICH
He only quit the race this month, and has said he is not interested in being VP. But as the popular governor of Ohio and a former congressman, Kasich, 64, could help win a crucial swing state.
FEMALE GOVERNOR
Trump is underwater when it comes to women voters, and a female running mate could help neutralise the gender debate.
He recently described Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, 61, who has a good track record with conservatives, as “fabulous”.
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, 44, turned a toxic debate after a shooting tragedy into a political launchpad last year by ordering the Confederate flag removed from the state capitol.
The daughter of Indian immigrants could also lend Trump credibility on the deeply divisive immigration issue.
