Who would be the best running mate for Hillary Clinton in 2016?
I agree with several others here who have said that the ideal pick would be male and hispanic. With the racist campaign Trump is running, Democrats have a chance–with a lot of help from the Republicans–to make the Hispanic voting bloc look a lot like the African American voting bloc. The latter tends to break 90% + for Democrats. In 2012, Hispanic voters broke 71% for Obama. If they break even the same as they did for Obama in 2012, Trump is almost certainly doomed. Trump’s xenophobia may well alienate Hispanic voters over the long term in the same way Nixon’s Southern Strategy shut the GOP out of the African American vote. In that case, the GOP could be shut out of the White House for a very long time.All that said, my pick would be Labor Secretary Tom Perez.[1] He’s an under the radar pick, but he checks a lot of the boxes. He’s smart, hispanic (Dominican-American), very progressive and organized labor absolutely loves him. He doesn’t help in a particular swing state, but he would help bring a lot of Sanders voters over I think. He would add to the historical nature of the Democratic ticket–a chance to elect both the first woman and first Latino to the executive branch, succeeding the first African American president. He’s older and more experienced than Booker or the Castro brothers. He doesn’t cost the Democrats a Senate seat (Booker and Warren would be have their short term replacements named by Republican governors.) Perez is very well regarded in the Obama Administration. He also has a strong working relationship with Hillary Clinton, and has a reputation as an excellent speaker and campaigner.[2]Footnotes[1] Thomas Perez[2] Top Democrats turn to Perez as sleeper VP