Both Hillary Clinton and rival Bernie Sanders have fueled speculation about their possible running mates in recent weeks. A Clinton staffer recently confirmed to The New York Times that the Democratic frontrunner is considering a short list of potential vice presidential picks, including at least one woman.
Sanders made his supporters' hearts beat a little faster when he told MSNBC on Tuesday that he would consider liberal favorite Elizabeth Warren as a potential running mate.
Republican candidate Ted Cruz became the first contender to pick a VP, with the announcement Wednesday that Carly Fiorina, his former rival, would join his ticket. That could accelerate the process on the Dem's side, too.
With any number of options to join the 2016 ballots, there's endless speculation about who will be chosen. We've collected some of the most prominent names swirling around; click through to learn about the possible vice presidential picks.
Mark Cuban, Investor And Businessman
Most of the names being tossed around as potential VP picks are current politicians. But in an appearance on Meet the Press Sunday, Hillary Clinton suggested that she's open to having a businessman as her running mate. Her comments came after Cuban said that he would be open to a potential VP candidacy — for either party's ticket.
"I think we should look widely and broadly. It's not just people in elective office. It is successful businesspeople," Clinton said on Meet the Press. "I am very interested in that. And I appreciate his openness to it."
Photo: Andrew Toth/Getty Images.
Julián Castro, Secretary Of The U.S. Department Of Housing And Urban Developmen t
Julián Castro has been actively campaigning for Hillary Clinton, and could be an inspiring figure to add to her campaign. A 41-year-old Mexican-American, Castro could appeal to the Clinton campaign both for his youth and his connections to the Latino community. The former mayor of San Antonio and Harvard Law graduate also comes from a politically active family (including a twin brother in the U.S. House of Representatives) and interned in the previous Clinton administration.
Photo: REX/Shutterstock/Getty Images.
Elizabeth Warren, Senior Senator From Massachusetts
Elizabeth Warren is a liberal darling, and everybody wants her. A consumer protection advocate, the former chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel, and member of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, her advocacy of financial reform and distrust of Wall Street make her a natural pick for the Sanders campaign. On April 26, Sanders called the Senator “a real champion of standing up for working families, taking on Wall Street,” in an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. However, Warren has also been rumored to be on the Clinton campaign’s shortlist.
Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images.
Deval Patrick, Former Two-Term Governor Of Massachusetts
Deval Patrick has a long history of advocating for racial justice. Before his gubernatorial career, he was a lawyer for the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund. He also has history with the Clintons — in 1994, he was appointed by President Bill Clinton as the U.S Assistant Attorney General for the civil rights division of the Department of Justice. He’s been rumored as a possible veep pick for Hillary Clinton since the earliest days of her campaign.
But Patrick doesn’t seem to have much interest in the vice presidential office. In 2014, he told T he Boston Herald an unequivocal "no" on whether there would be a Hillary Clinton-Deval Patrick ticket, and back in December he told New England Cable News that he would “rule out” a vice presidential run.
Photo: Boston Globe/Getty Images.
Amy Klobuchar, Senior Senator From Minnesota
Amy Klobuchar’s name has been floating around in relation to the Clinton campaign. A popular Democrat, Klobuchar is both the most popular politician in her home state of Minnesota and one of the most popular Senators in the country, according to Public Policy Polling. She also shares Clinton’s views on a number of key issues, including reproductive rights, and health care. Campaign chairman John Podesta confirmed to The Boston Globe that Clinton would be considering women for her potential running mate; Klobuchar could be an appealing option.
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