In an article published this morning in The Atlantic, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo was mentioned as a possible Vice Presidential candidate should Hillary Clinton win the Democrat presidential primary.
What’s more historic than the first major female presidential nominee? The first two-woman presidential ticket, of course.
If it happens. But according to Hillary Clinton campaign chair John Podesta, it’s a distinct possibility. “We’ll start with a broad list and then begin to narrow it. But there is no question that there will be women on that list,” he told The Boston Globe. To be fair, this isn’t the first time Clinton or her aides have mentioned the idea. In January, she told Rachel Maddow she would “absolutely not” rule out a female running mate. Some of the names that are circulating: Senators Elizabeth Warren (of course), Claire McCaskill, Jean Shaheen, and Amy Klobuchar; and Governors Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire (an unlikely choice, as she’s running for U.S. Senate) and Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island.
Is this a far fetched proposition? Maybe not. Recently Governor Raimondo was named one of the World’s 50 Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine. However her administration’s catastrophic rollout of the #coolerandwarmer tourism campaign certainly has to dampen her chances a bit. And the fact that a Republican hasn’t won Rhode Island since Ronald Reagan did it in 1984 doesn’t seem to help much either.
This isn’t the first time in recent memory that a Rhode Islander was on the Vice Presidential shortlist. In 1976, Buddy Cianci was frequently mentioned as a possible VP to President Gerald Ford.
Thoughts?