Research finds that picking Sanders for VP would be Hillary’s best shot at the White House

And Palin would be Trump’s worst

| UPDATED

With speculation rampant about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump’s VP picks, Monmouth University has found that Hillary’s best chance of winning lies in a ticket with her former arch-rival Bernie Sanders.

According to their polling, thirty-nine per cent of registered voters are more likely to support Clinton if the Vermont senator  is her VP, compared to 20 percent less likely. Sanders did even better among undecided voters: half of those surveyed “would be more likely to support Clinton if Sanders is her vice presidential nominee and just 16 per cent say they would be less likely to vote for this ticket.”

The other notable Democratic VP possibility, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, had a net positive rating but polled worse than Sanders (24 percent more likely vs. Sanders’ 39 per cent).

The only Republican with a net positive rating was Florida Senator Marco Rubio (27 per cent more likely to support Trump, 20 percent less likely). But the most notable findings were on former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Only 13 percent of those surveyed would be more likely to support the Republican ticket if Palin was the VP pick, while 42 percent would be less likely. Palin did worse among undecided voters: 54 percent of them would be less likely to vote for the GOP.

Patrick Murray, the director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, cautions against reading too much into the poll, since the results are largely based on name recognition. Furthermore, despite the buzz, the vice presidential pick doesn’t do much to sway the national electorate. “At best, they can help with a specific constituency or in a key state,” says Murray. “At worst, they can demonstrate poor decision-making on the part of a person who aspires to be leader of the free world.”

The full Monmouth survey can be found here.