Hillary Clinton's Veepstakes Scorecard: Grades for All the Potential VP Picks

With Donald Trump selecting Mike Pence as his running mate, all eyes turn to Hillary Clinton to see who she will choose. Trump needed someone to unite the party, who had political experience, and would soften the ticket. He found all three in Pence and we gave him a B+ selection score before he was chosen.

Hillary Clinton needs to approach her pick differently. While she wasn’t indicted legally for her email server scandal, FBI Director Comey’s outlining her indiscretions indicted her politically. The videos of her statements clashing with Comey’s assertions were devastating. It doesn’t help that the super-majority of those polled find her untrustworthy.

While she carries a wealth of experience, Hillary Clinton needs a running mate that balances out her negatives. He or she needs to be honest, authentic, and charismatic. She’s even said that she’s not a politician, but needs to be careful not to pick someone that overshadows her. We still vote on who’s at the top of the ticket.

The following outlines for each potential VP selection for Hillary:

(A-) Tim Kaine, Senator from Virginia

- While Kaine will not bring a lot of pizzazz to the ticket, he is a solid choice. The former Governor and current Senator of Virginia, brings experience without overshadowing her. Virginia is a swing state and the fact that he speaks fluent Spanish doesn’t hurt. He also would be appealing to independent voters.

(B+) Deval Patrick, Former Governor of Massachusetts

- Patrick served eight years as Governor, and was the US Assistant Attorney General for the civil rights division under President Clinton. He’s also an excellent speaker, adds diversity to the ticket (he's African-American), and would be great on the campaign trail. A negative is that he currently works for Bain Capital which may not play well as Hillary Clinton has come under criticism for being too close to Wall St. and working for Bain Capital was used against Mitt Romney in 2012.

(B+) John Hickenlooper, Governor of Colorado

- Hickenlooper is an interesting option. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, and current Governor of Colorado, both are important swing states. Gary Johnson, the Libertarian candidate, is looking to make inroads in Colorado and that could eat into Hillary Clinton’s share, creating an opening for Donald Trump. With Hickenlooper on the ticket, that could solidify Colorado’s nine electoral votes. A likeable and folksy guy, Clinton-Hickenlooper unfortunately doesn’t sound like a national ticket.

(B) Tom Vilsack, Secretary of Agriculture

- Secretary of Agriculture and former Governor of Iowa, Vilsack is a poor man’s Tim Kaine. While Iowa is a swing state as well, Virginia is more critical as it carries seven more electoral votes. He would play very well in the Midwest, but may be too boring for a national ticket.

(B) Sherrod Brown, Senator from Ohio

- Ohio is one of the most important states in the 2016 election. Brown is also of the far-left and could help to bring in those who supported Bernie Sanders. He’s not a great speaker though and may be too liberal for a national ticket. If he’s on the ticket and Hillary wins, John Kasich would appoint a Republican replacement and that would hurt the chances of the Democrats to take back the Senate.

(B) Cory Booker, Senator from New Jersey

- A rising star in the party and former Mayor of Newark, Booker would certainly bring energy to the ticket. As an African-American, he would add diversity, but being from New Jersey wouldn’t help strategically and similarly to Brown, Chris Christie would replace him with a Republican. Wouldn't be a bad pick, but wouldn't move the needle much.

(C+) Elizabeth Warren, Senator from Massachusetts

- Warren certainly brings passion and energy. Many on the far-left want Warren on the ticket, but she’s too liberal, controversial and would scare off independent voters and Wall St. support. People may not feel comfortable with her being one step away from the presidency. She can be an attack dog without being on the ticket.

(C) Julian Castro, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

- The Hispanic former Mayor of San Antonio is being talked up, has an interesting life story, but is young at 41. Politico did a story on him in January that wasn’t flattering saying he was “reading and watching television in Spanish trying to get his speaking skills up to speed”. The story also said its believed he turned down Secretary of Homeland Security because he and his team were afraid that an attack on his watch, “would have ended the political career.” With the country facing many issues, he’s too high a risk.

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