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Is Hillary Clinton’s Running Mate Tim Kaine? VP List Includes Tom Vilsack, Julian Castro

By Frank Yemi
Published on: 18:12 PST, Jul 20, 2016

Who is Hillary Clinton’s running mate? Virginia Senator Tim Kaine and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack are the most likely to emerge as vice president for the Democratic party after a scrupulous vetting process in the search for VP.

Hillary Clinton is going to be looking for a running mate that has national security experience. Tim Kaine ticks that box, as he serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

However, Admiral James G. Stavridis, a retired four-star Navy admiral and former NATO commander, will inspire more confidence, if national security is Clinton’s priority in her VP pick.

When will Hilary Clinton’s running mate be announced? The New York Times reports that she will likely introduce her VP at a rally in Miami on Saturday.

A CNN poll predicted a 73 percent chance that Tim Kaine will get the vice presidential nomination. Kaine was also considered by Obama in 2008 who ultimately decided to select Joe Biden.

When asked about the prospects of being Hillary Clinton’s running mate, the Virginia senator stated that he loves his job and is not overthinking it. In regard to being on Obama’s shortlist in 2008, Kaine laughs and states: “I kind of know the rhythm of it.”

While Senator Kaine looks like the favorite to be VP — don’t be so sure. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has made more campaign stops with Hillary Clinton – at a total of seven, compared to Kaine’s two stops.

According to NBCNews, when describing Vilsack last year, Hillary stated: “Talk about somebody who studies a problem, asks for advice about what will work, puts together teams, collaborates and then delivers. He is exhibit A.”

No matter who Hillary Clinton selects as her running mate, she won’t have any trouble uniting the Democratic party around her. Bernie Sanders has already endorsed Hillary, and although he has made it known that he would prefer a progressive VP, he has stated that the choice is hers.

On the prospect of a Hispanic running mate for Hillary Clinton, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro fits the bill. However, Secretary Castro is reported to have violated federal law when speaking highly of Hillary Clinton, thus dimming his chances of being her vice president.

Fox News reports on the violation stemming from Castro’s comments:

?”The Office of Special Counsel (OSC), an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency, announced on Monday that Castro violated the Hatch Act during an interview with Yahoo News’ Katie Couric in which he spoke favorably of presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.”

Castro has received high praise from Clinton and met with her in Washington to discuss becoming her running mate. Whether this incident is enough to remove him from the VP shortlist is yet to be determined.

Latinos tend to vote highly Democratic, and Donald Trump’s previous comments increase the likelihood of most voting for Hillary Clinton.

Tim Kaine as Hillary Clinton’s running mate is the most likely scenario. However, even insiders in the Hillary campaign reportedly do not know:

“Clinton has not made her final decision, an aide said, or if she has, she has not disclosed it. Even the small universe of advisers working on the selection process, who are making plans to help on the announcement, are not certain who she will choose.”

In the meantime, Hillary Clinton has not held back on the attacks on Donald Trump’s vice presidential nominee pick, Mike Pence.

Clinton campaign has described him as a divisive governor that discriminated against the LGBT community.

Who would you like to see as Hillary Clinton’s running mate? Are Tim Kaine and Tom Vilsack good options for vice president? Leave your comments below.

[Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images]

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