Hillary Clinton's VP criteria reportedly include appealing to Bernie Sanders supporters

(Image credit: John Sommers II/Getty Images)

published 16 May 2016

Donald Trump says he won't name his running mate until the Republican National Convention, though he's already ruling people out (didn't Marco Rubio already pre-emptively say no?). But despite all the focus on the Trump veepstakes, Hillary Clinton has to chose a running mate, too, and she is looking for one "who could make a direct appeal to supporters of Bernie Sanders," USA Today reports, citing "four people close to the campaign." Clinton is also reportedly looking for someone who can go mano-a-mano with Trump, and she doesn't care about swing states as much as demography.

The most frequently named running mate for Clinton is probably Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a sometime Clinton critic who has been trading barbs with Trump on Twitter, and doing it well. USA Today suggests that the criteria their sources enumerate also make Labor Secretary Tom Perez, Rep. Xavier Becerra, and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) more likely than Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) or Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).

And Clinton doesn't just have to appeal to young Sanders supporters for her own campaign, Howard Dean says. "They're not Democrats, these kids," Dean, a 2004 Democratic candidate and current Clinton backer, tells USA Today. "They're independents and they could vote Republican eventually if we don't do something to get them into our party." If you want to hear more on why Clinton needs Sanders supporters, from a reliably entertaining Clinton backer, watch James Carville on MSNBC's Morning Joe last week. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.