Asked about his appearance Thursday on Clinton’s official Instagram account, Booker said it should not be read as tea leaves about a potential vice presidential pick.
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Clinton also is expected to visit Orlando on Friday, though a campaign news release did not provide details.
The former president believes that Kaine has the appropriate experience with domestic and national security issues needed to attract voters and prepare him for the presidency should he need to step in as commander in chief.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary and former Iowa governor Tom Vilsack may be on Hillary Clinton’s short-list for a vice presidential running mate. The presumptive Democratic nominee has campaigned or met with most of the candidates in recent weeks and is set to appear with her final choice before the Democratic National Convention kicks off in Philadelphia next week.
A spokesman for the campaign declined to comment. She’s expected to unveil her running mate at either a Friday afternoon rally at the state fairgrounds in Tampa or at a Saturday event at Florida International University in Miami, where two-thirds of the student body is Hispanic.
“Two Democrats described Perez as a solid third choice, but others cautioned that he may not be in the same category as Vilsack and Kaine”, the Post reported.
As governor of Virginia, Mr. Kaine appealed to both Democrats in urban pockets and independents in rural areas, and established a reputation as a pragmatic consensus builder.
Clinton is looking for someone both well-grounded in government and absolutely loyal, and the 58-year-old Kaine easily fits that bill.
And he spoke of his interest in finding consensus – his fundraising committee is called the Common Ground PAC – and argued that Donald Trump has demonstrated he is not the bridge-builder that Clinton has promised to be. And he is likely to be able to help Clinton pull out a victory this fall in Iowa, an important battle-ground state that leans red.
“I get really irritated when I hear Donald Trump say, ‘Let’s make America great again, ‘” Vilsack said in an Associated Press interview. Last year, when Clinton needed an Iowa field manager, Vilsack prevailed upon her to hire one of his top aides, Matt Paul, who’s since become of her most trusted aides.
The Democratic source knowledgeable about the process said Clinton could announce her running mate as early as Friday in Florida.
The Ohio senator is said to be “incredibly intriguing” to Clinton. Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker or Sherrod Brown.
A handful of other Democrats are also said to be under consideration, though the full list is being closely guarded by the Clinton campaign. I’ve seen it up close, I’ve worked for one, I’ve had that experience.
Kaine speaks fluent Spanish, and last week, Clinton beamed at a Virginia rally as he declared: “Estamos listos para Hillary!” or “We are ready for Hillary!”
The White House signaled Wednesday that the president would support the former governor’s presence on the Democratic ticket. But Booker, who is black, could help her expand her outreach among minority voters in her general election race against Trump. And while polls suggest that most of his supporters plan to vote for her in November, some surveys suggest that only a small fraction of them will do so enthusiastically and that Clinton remains unpopular with independents. He was also considered for the VP slot during John Kerry’s 2004 presidential run and also briefly ran for president in 2008 before supporting Hillary Clinton.
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In Colorado, Hickenlooper’s quirky, independent style plays well, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to confidence in him on a presidential ticket.
