A rundown of Trump and Hillary’s potential running mates

We currently have two candidates who have clinched the nominations for their respective parties. This includes Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton. What we do not know, however, is who the possible vice presidents would be for the candidates if they take the Oval Office. Although we have formed educated guesses on who they will choose, it is unknown who they will select.

Both Clinton and Trump have solely three potential candidates who they will choose to be their running mates. Their selection is extremely important. The President is the head of our government but the Vice President has very important duties too. Their primary jobs are to cast a vote in the event of a Senate deadlock, which will decide which policies will move forward in our country, and to preside over and certify the official vote count of the U.S. Electoral College. This means that the Vice President will not only be the leader who ensures that the President was properly chosen but they also have a very important say in how our country is run.

So far, we can narrow down the possible running mates for Trump to three candidates. These include Chris Christie, Nikki Haley and Newt Gingrich.

Chris Christie is best known as a former candidate for the 2016 presidential election for the Republican party. This means that he has experience in what it takes to run for president. He also knows what views Trump has because of his party affiliation, which matches with Trump’s. Christie is also the Governor of New Jersey. Christie has been reported defending Trump, saying that he is “not racist” and “has right” to express his thoughts on who is the judge in the Trump University case. In this case, Trump University is being sued for fraud, false advertising, unfair business practices and violating “financial elder abuse” statutes in the states of California and Florida. Trump was accused of being a racist by blasting US District Judge Gonzalo Curiel for having “an inherent conflict of interest” against Trump University. Those who have disagreed with this action say that his issues with the judge stem from Curiel’s parents who were from Mexico.

Haley is notable as the first female governor of South Carolina. She is also the youngest governor in the United States at 44 years old. In addition to presiding over South Carolina as governor, Haley also acts as the chair of the board of trustees of the University of South Carolina. She has endorsed other republicans for President prior to Trump such as Marco Rubio, before he suspended his campaign on March 15, and then Ted Cruz who dropped the campaign on May 4. Although Haley has seen many triumphs in her career, such as delivering the Republican response to Obama’s final State of the Union address, she has not been reported as endorsing Trump. She additionally has not been reported as supporting him.

Newt Gingrich, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives along with a political consultant, is also on the list of possible running mates. Gingrich has, however, upset Trump by weighing in on the Trump University case supporting taunts that Trump is a racist. Trump has said that he thinks that is it “inappropriate” for Gingrich to weigh in on the discussion.

Although Trump is thought of as having smart potential candidates to choose, who all have political experience, it seems as though they do not agree with Trump as much as he would like.

Clinton has an equal number of candidates as Trump who may become her running mate this election season. It has been predicted that she will choose from Tim Kaine, a Senator for Virginia, Julián Castro, a member of the San Antonio city council and their mayor, and Elizabeth Warren, the Senator for Massachusetts.

Kaine is a very suitable politician for the position. Both Kaine and Warner have appeared in the New York Times’s short list for Clinton’s potential vice president candidates. Unlike Trump, Kaine is a candidate who does not anger anyone. He is a very safe choice who Clinton would find agreeable. He also has a geographic and personal story that has both a party-base and general appeal. With Kaine as her running mate, Clinton is much more likely to win over some states when the presidential elections roll around. After endorsing Obama in his election in 2008, Kaine has quickly decided to endorse Clinton as the presidential candidate of his choice. 

Castro, along with Kaine, is also an avid supporter of Clinton. He has been actively campaigning for her since she announced that she was running. His brother, Joaquin Castro, is currently the United States Representative. Castro has been called, by sites such as CNN, the “Great Latino Hope of America” due to his likability. Castro is not only a Clinton supporter but he is also against Trump which he has publicly announced previously.

Finally, Warren is on the short list for Clinton. Warren is a firm supporter of both Obama and Clinton in their elections. She has voiced that she hopes to stop Republicans in obstructing Obama’s initiatives. It has been noted, however, that if Clinton chooses Warren as vice president, Clinton would hurt her own chances to gain the support of progressives. The progressives are extremely important to the Democrats who believe in both environmentalism and social justice along with progressives. 

Although Trump has more unfavorable choices of who he could choose to be his running mate, Clinton’s choices are not all perfect either.

While we are unsure who each candidate will choose, we know that they will do everything they can and use their running mate’s governmental positives to enhance their campaign so that they can walk into the White House next January.