Academic: Kaine was the logical choice as Hillary Clinton’s vice president
By Andra Gillespie
Hillary Clinton has selected Virginia Senator Tim Kaine as her running mate.
While this news was not surprising Kaine had long been suspected to be a top choice and made President Obamas short list in 2008 it does raise questions about Secretary Clintons choices. In an extremely polarized election contest where her own liberal bona fides were questioned, why would she pick a centrist Democrat as her running mate?
Those who study the vice presidency usually concede that the veep pick has a negligible impact on the tickets eventual vote totals. John McCains choice of Sarah Palin in 2008 may be an exception. Researchers estimate she may have cost the campaign as much as 1.6 percentage points. However, the choice of a running mate still reflects a nominees judgment and sends signals about which groups campaigns they feel they need to target in a general election.
Both Clinton and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had to balance the demands of base constituencies with their own need to find complementary partners for the campaign.
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