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With Hillary Clinton all but officially clinching the presidential nomination, the question turns to who should be her Vice-Presidential nominee. The list of potential choices is unusually short, and includes Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, HUD Secretary Julian Castro and Virginia Senators Tim Kaine or Mark Warner.

I can’t see Clinton picking a male version of her own politics, so the two Virginia Senators are likely out. This leaves the choice between Brown and Castro.

Sherrod Brown

It seems that everyone I ask about the VP choice favors Brown. His opposition to trade deals and strong labor support makes him a popular choice among those feeling the Bern. Ohio has long been a determinant of who wins the White House, so Brown also helps Clinton secure a swing state.

Brown also would be effective in responding to Trump’s daily attacks on Clinton and launching salvos of his own. It’s long been the VP nominee’s role to play the combative role while the presidential nominee stays above the fray; Sherrod Brown would be perfect for this.

Brown’s wife, Connie Schultz, is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. She would be a strong asset in a campaign where Donald Trump plans to make “the woman card” a key issue.

But there are three issues with Brown that make him less than a surefire choice.

First, if he becomes Vice-President, Ohio Governor John Kasich will fill his Senate seat with a Republican. If Democrats do as well in November as many predict, taking back the Senate is in play. Losing Brown’s seat could spell the difference.

Second, a Clinton-Brown ticket would feature two white people over 60. That’s a questionable approach for a Democratic Party that depends on non-white voters to win.

Democrats preach diversity but a Clinton-Brown ticket says otherwise. I wrote last August (“Who Will Be Dems VP Nominee”) that “Balancing a Democratic ticket headed by Clinton, Sanders or Biden calls out for a young, non-white running mate.” Yet many progressives still prefer Brown due to his pro-labor stands.

Third, Clinton is popular in Ohio (she won both the 2008 and 2012 primaries) and does not need Brown on the ticket to win the state.

Julian Castro

HUD Secretary and former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro would be the first Latino on a major party’s national presidential ticket. Given Latino voters have played crucial roles in Obama’s two presidential wins, it seems overdue for this critical constituency to have a representative on the ticket.

I’ve seen Castro talk up close and he was very impressive. I’ve reached the same conclusion watching him interviewed on television and in videos of his speeches.

Yet many are adamant that Castro would be a poor choice. Daily Kos founder Markos Moulitsas recently wrote that Castro is “ill-suited for any presidential ticket anytime soon.” He even compared Castro to Dan Quayle and Sarah Palin, calling him a “lightweight” who is “unqualified and unprepared.”

That’s pretty harsh criticism. Castro is light years above Quayle and Palin intellectually but the point is that being mayor of San Antonio (a part-time job) and HUD Secretary gives Castro less experience than being Governor of Alaska or a Senator from Indiana.

Is Castro really “unqualified”? George W. Bush was not intellectually qualified to be president and Bernie Sanders has leveled this same charge against Hillary Clinton. Being “qualified” for president has become a very subjective assessment; Republicans insisted Barack Obama’s short tenure in public office left him “unqualified” as well.

It’s also worth discussing how any Latino can get the standard qualifications to be appointed VP nominee or get nominated for President. Castro plans to return to Texas after this year, but no Democratic Latino has a chance to win statewide office in Texas anytime soon. California has the greatest Latino political power, but no California Latino is favored to win the Governor’s office or a US Senate seat in the foreseeable future.

So if “qualified” for the presidency means first becoming a Senator or Governor, non-Cuban Latino Democrats may be waiting decades for a chance. And considering Clinton will win regardless of who is her VP nominee, why not give a Latino the step up they need to get the formal “qualifications” for the presidency?

A separate concern about Castro is whether he is the right person to do battle with Trump and his VP nominee in what will be a gloves off campaign. Brown seems far better suited for this role.

It’s also true that there will be a record Latino turnout in November, driven by anti-Trump feelings. So Castro does not need to be on the ticket to galvanize Latino voters.

Prediction: In light of Bernie Sanders’ success, Clinton almost certainly will pick a VP popular with the Sanders constituency. So Brown will be her choice.

Randy Shaw is Editor of Beyond Chron.

Randy Shaw Randy Shaw is the Editor of Beyond Chron and the Director of San Francisco’s Tenderloin Housing Clinic, which publishes Beyond Chron. Shaw's latest book is Generation Priced Out: Who Gets to Live in the New Urban America. He is the author of four prior books on activism, including The Activist's Handbook: Winning Social Change in the 21st Century, and Beyond the Fields: Cesar Chavez, the UFW and the Struggle for Justice in the 21st Century. He is also the author of The Tenderloin: Sex, Crime and Resistance in the Heart of San Francisco More Posts

Filed under: National Politics