By Super Tuesday, pretty much everything will be wrapped up on the Democratic side of the nomination. Sanders will likely win only states with large white working class populations, in places like Vermont, Minnesota, Massachusetts, Colorado, and Oklahoma. With wins in big delegate states like Texas, Georgia, and Tennessee, Clinton will have essentially locked up the nomination. Add to that the fact that Clinton already holds a more than 400 superdelegate lead over Sanders (http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/democratic_delegate_count.html), you begin to wonder if he even had a chance to win.

With this in mind, here's a hypothetical list of potential Clinton VP candidates:

1. Terry McAuliffe - the Governor of Virginia hails from a swing state and has an extremely close relationship to Clinton, with a sizable number of McAuliffe Staffers on her campaign.

2. Tom Vilsack - the Secretary of Agriculture has a very very low national presence, but hails from a swing state (Iowa) and has had a close relationship to Clinton for decades.

3. Time Kaine or Mark Warner - both are Senators from Virginia, which is being called a must-win purple state with an increasingly large suburban, Asian-American, and collegiate voting population. Both are also considered Democratic moderates, which may aid Clinton in the GE after being driven to the left by Sanders.

4. Elizabeth Warren - although some political pundits have called it a risky step to create an all female-ticket for the White House, Warren would energize the democratic and progressive base that Sander's has been tapping into for the GE.

5. Julian Castro - the secretary of HUD has been rising to fame since his 2012 Democratic Convention speech, and is considered the logical pick if Rubio gets the GOP nomination as a way to win the latino vote.

6. Tulsi Gabbard - the Hindu-American Congresswoman from Hawaii's 2nd Congressional District may no longer be an option after her shock resignation from the DNC and endorsement of Bernie Sanders. However, if Rubio picks Governor Nikki Haley as his VP choice then she's back in the running to court the Asian-American vote.

7. Cory Booker - the senator from New Jersey is considered to be the eventual heir to Barack Obama as a future Democratic Presidential Contender, and is modeling his rhetoric and message like Obama's Hope and Change campaign of 2008. Clinton could use him to help energize the African American vote to turn up on election night at the same levels they did for Obama in 2008 and 2012.

8. Deval Patrick - the former governor of Massachusetts has considerable experience and ties to the first Clinton administration. Although he's been floated around as a possible Supreme Court pick by Obama, he may serve a better role in winning over a blue working class state like Massachusetts from Trump.

9. Jim Webb - another Virginia politician, he could help bring military leadership and centrism back into the Clinton campaign, which could help appeal to moderates.

10. Wendy Davis - the Democratic State Senator from Texas holds some of the risks that Elizabeth Warren does, but has the added benefit of being an elected (and extremely popular) official in Texas. You may remember her from a few years back as the person who led the charge to block several restrictive abortion laws in the state, a fight she ultimately lost. Some have said she would be a sure fire way to win greater support in red states, while also rounding off Clinton's rough perception among women.

11. Bernie Sanders - don't see this happening, but its always a possibility to keep working class and blue collar voters jumping to support Trump.

12. Jay Nixon - the extremely popular Democratic governor of Missouri could help propel a wave of Southern Democrat victories and restore trust to a candidate who all but lacks it in the public eye. He's won 6 statewide elections in a row, and could help Clinton get in the White House with midwestern state wins.

I'll post a list of potential Republican VP picks after Super Tuesday and the field likely narrows to Rubio and Trump.

12. Jay Nixon - the extremely popular Democratic governor of Missouri could help propel a wave of Southern Democrat victories and restore trust to a candidate who all but lacks it in the public eye. He's won 6 statewide elections in a row, and could help Clinton get in the White House with midwestern state wins.

Since I'm from Missouri I feel semi-obligated to pitch in on this. Nixon would be a pretty good choice, as he's seemed somewhat moderate and laid-back. The only downside I could possibly see is criticism regarding his handling of Ferguson. Personally, I think he did what could be expected, but it's hard to please the more radical portions of the Left.

11. Bernie Sanders - don't see this happening, but its always a possibility to keep working class and blue collar voters jumping to support Trump.

Very doubtful Sanders would be willing to play second fiddle. However, if he DID run on the same ticket as Hillary it would likely grant her an easy election.

9. Jim Webb - another Virginia politician, he could help bring military leadership and centrism back into the Clinton campaign, which could help appeal to moderates.

Ah, poor Jim Webb. Moderates are a dying breed among the Democrats (And Republicans too), sadly. However, there might be enough of them left to still make a difference.

When Hillary wins the nomination, she will most likely pick Bernie as her running mate. The primaries have shown that he has lots of support, and Hillary would do well to pick him as her running mate just to win the actual election. If she doesn't, many Bernie supporters may just stay home in November. Hillary already implied she would pick Bernie in a previous Democratic debate.

Should Sanders win the nomination by a miracle, he would probably pick Hillary as his running mate as well for the same reason.

@The Lord

Agreed. And I think Sanders would probably accept been the vp (more then hillary), as a way to push her left as well as way to make the democrats win in november (at the end of the day, he's a teamplayer).

For the republicans vp's, if Trump gets the nomination, I'd say he's either picking Sarah Pallin or Christie for the position. They're both popular with the republican base, and have endorsed him. Sarah would be good for the women and Christie would be good as a concession to moderates and the establishment. Both would raise his chances at november, but I think the dem's still have a clear advantage over him in november.

I'd say he's either picking Sarah Pallin or Christie for the position.

Neither of them are on my draft list of potential Republican VP picks.

They both offer absolutely no material benefits to Trump. Palin would fare horribly with women, and the public consensus across the board is that she's a nutjob. Christie comes from a deeply blue state that has no chance of falling to Trump due to large pockets of latino and african american voters. A Trump-Christie ticket would fare horribly in the GE as the Democrats would smear their campaign using the oft-repeated attack that the GOP represents the old, the white, and the rich.

Can't think of any good black republican vp candidate (Carson would be a joke really), maybe he could go for candidates with latino ascendence such as Rubio or Cruz, but they would never get on board. What names do you have in mind?

Tim Scott - Black Senator from South Carolina

Nikki Haley - Indian-American Governor of South Carolina

Susana Martinez - Latino Governor of New Mexico

Marco Rubio (if Trump wins)

John Kasich - appeals to Democrats and Independents, and comes from Ohio (GOP has to win Ohio...like no joke its a prerequisite to them winning)

Allan West - Black retired US Army Lieutenant Colonel and he represented Florida's 22nd Congressional District until 2013

Joni Ernst - Senator fro Iowa

Kelly Ayotte - Senator from New Hampshire

I'm actually expecting Cruz or Rubio, rather Rubio as he has the Republican establishment on his side. Maybe even Christie if they're really good friends as he indicated in his endorsement, but I doubt that. I agree with Jai that Palin's reputation is too bad. Even though she isn't as bad as her reputation.

That said, I think Trump is the most likely candidate to become president right now. He knows how the game of politics works, and I don't think he would have entered the race if he wasn't very confident of his chances. Hillary is such an easy target. Also, Trump has a whole popular movement behind him, Hillary doesn't. Bernie has some too, but he is too naive to stand a chance against shrewd tactics of Hillary or the Donald.

Also, Trump has a whole popular movement behind him, Hillary doesn't. Bernie has some too, but he is too naive to stand a chance against shrewd tactics of Hillary or the Donald.

Neh, I don't think he's naive, he just has moral standarts, which is how he's doing so well. I think he has more chances to beat trump then hillary.

And btw, trump has too many haters, the only way he'll get elected in november is by remaking his image after the nomination. He'll need to make a shift to the center or else he'll never get elected against hillary or bernie. Rubio is a bad pick, I personally think he's weak, and his lattest debates show it, his image has been damaged a lot.

I think kasich would make more sense as a vp that makes that shift to the center. He needs to appeal to moderates, but again, it would be a double white men ticket, so pretty hard to win over minorities and women. A latino vp would also be great to give him chances in high latino percentage states.

So, if he wants to be elected president, he needs to make a shift to the center and thus a moderate/black/latino or woman vp. One of the above, and probably 2 to really boost him. Cause the trump of today will get smashed in the november elections.

Very doubtful Sanders would be willing to play second fiddle. However, if he DID run on the same ticket as Hillary it would likely grant her an easy election.

Why wouldn't he want to play second fiddle? Say you were bit of Communist Party of America, where everyone hated you, you hated everyone, very different politic outlooks than those at the government. You'd still absolutely take vice presidency if offered - you get to influence folk of your politic ideology + you get to be super rich.

13. Joe Biden - Current VP, highest favorables vs unfavorables of all politicians, could beef up Clinton's arguments about experience and her campaign being a continuation of Obama's policies.

14. Martin O'Malley - former governor of Maryland (you don't want to pick a current governor, the Dems only have 21 of 50!), somewhat charismatic, experienced, policies rather similar to Clinton's.

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Warren would be a good choice. She is intelligent, articulate, and energizes crowds with her ideas (much like Sanders). She also hasn't officially supported either candidate yet. Clinton has already co-opted Sanders' talking points, rhetoric, and some policies. However, primaries force candidates to attract the parties' militants, while candidates move to the center in the general election. Picking Warren for the general election would be a move in the opposite direction.

Castro would be an odd choice. He hasn't done anything of note. And if Trump is the Republican candidate 70-80% of Hispanics (and perhaps 20-30% of registered Republicans) already will not vote for Trump. Castro's name would only come in handy if Rubio or Cruz were the Republican candidate.

Sanders won't do it or Hilary won't want him on board. He has criticized the Clintons a bit too much and candidates rarely chose their main rival as the VP.

Webb is an afterthought on the national stage.

Booker is too hyper/exuberant/energetic for his own good. Have you seen him in interviews? She definitely won't pick him.

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As for the Republicans, it is too early to speculate about anything. If Trump doesn't get a majority of the delegates outright, we could see a contested convention. Rubio and Cruz seem to have made a deal: attack Trump more, each other less. And Rubio has really started to take on Trump. The con-artist argument and use of Trump's petty personal attacks against Trump (much like how Clinton has adopted Sanders' rhetoric/style) could be effective. If it isn't, it could drive a wedge through the party and make things really interesting.

Edited 2/29/2016 07:41:38

Neh, I don't think he's naive, he just has moral standarts, which is how he's doing so well. I think he has more chances to beat trump then hillary.

When Black Lives Matter people disrupted his rally, he just let them take the stage like a quiet good boy. Not someone who can take anyone powerful on.

If it's Trump vs. Sanders, Trump will just create a narrative that Sanders is low energy, a nasty person, a clown, a commie or what not, and that will destroy Sanders' ratings.

And btw, trump has too many haters, the only way he'll get elected in november is by remaking his image after the nomination.

That's exactly what he will do. He will re-run those Jeb! ads that "expose" him as a covert Democrat. He has already taken some Democratic stances like Pro Eminent Domain. By November, most voters have already forgotten what he said last summer.

I think kasich would make more sense as a vp that makes that shift to the center.

I could see him choosing Kasich too, exactly for that reason.

So, if he wants to be elected president, he needs to make a shift to the center

Trump already has lots of centrist appeal. In Iowa Caucus straw poll, Trump got 90% of the Democrat-leaning vote. He was also strong among independents, together with Rubio. It was the religious conservatives that cost him that Caucus win.

Trump VP picks: Allan West; Jeff Sessions; Ted Cruz; Chris Christie.
Sessions identifies most with Trump, but won't bring new support. West would be useful, same for Cruz

I don't think Warren would be a risk at all (all woman ticket). If people have an issue with voting for 2 women, then they would not vote for Hilary in the first place, no matter who she selects as a running mate.


And yes, I think Bernie's chances are very slim. He needs to pull some upsets to try and get some super delegates to change.

Edited 2/29/2016 19:20:59