Kathie Obradovich

kobradov@dmreg.com

Now that Donald Trump has finally confirmed his choice of a running mate, it’s Hillary Clinton’s turn.

She might pick a safe establishment type, like Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine or even Iowa’s Tom Vilsack. She might take a risk on a rising star who might entice younger or minority voters, like New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker. Maybe she’d reach out to party progressives with Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown or even Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

From an Iowa perspective, Vilsack would be a slam dunk. He’s a favorite of Iowa Democrats and has at least some respect from Republicans. He’s experienced, loyal and trustworthy. He’s humble and hard working. He’s also more draft horse than show pony and not seen as a game changer for the ticket outside of Iowa.

Whomever she picks, however, is destined to be a third wheel. Maybe even a fifth wheel, considering how much diesel fuel is needed to cart around Bill Clinton.

The challenge for Hillary Clinton’s running mate is that she already has a shadow who won’t get off the stage any time soon: Bernie Sanders.

Maybe you thought that after endorsing Clinton, the wild-haired democratic socialist would just go home to Vermont until it’s time to start annoying his fellow senators again. Not so, according to the vice chairman of Iowa’s delegation to the Democratic National Convention.

“I had a conference call with Sen. Sanders (July 12) and he is not suspending his campaign. He is still a candidate and we will be able to cast our votes for him at roll call,” Jason Ray Brown said.

Brown, 32, a musician and Sanders delegate from Cedar Rapids, has some statements prepared about how the Sanders delegates from Iowa will support the Democratic Party nominee and work to elect progressive Democrats up and down the ballot.

But he won’t say, not directly anyway, that he will vote for Clinton or encourage others to vote for her. “I am active Democrat and I’ll be working very hard for Democrats this year,” Brown said.

National delegate Chris Laursen is not so diplomatic. “I will never, ever support Hillary Clinton as the nominee,” he said. “I support ethical candidates only.”

Laursen, 45, is a labor activist who works at the John Deere plant in Ottumwa. He is helping to organize delegates to attend a protest of the Democratic National Committee, to be held in Philadelphia during the convention. “It’s basically to protest our corrupt political system,” he said.

Laursen didn’t seem to put any importance on the choice of a running mate when it comes to his position on Clinton.

Brown said a progressive running mate — the more progressive the better — could help the Clinton campaign. But he also sees a continued role for Sanders, separate from Clinton’s campaign. “He has a very important function as senator but also he’s the leader of a movement, an enormous movement, that will keep growing,” he said.

So far, Sanders has been focusing his clout on winning approval for a progressive platform at the Democratic National Convention. It’s important to his supporters, even though party platforms tend to have little appreciable effect on real-life campaigns.

I have no reason to question that Sanders was sincere in his endorsement of Clinton and his pledge to work to defeat Trump. I would not expect a man known for his integrity to give lip service to an endorsement while slipping a dagger in Clinton’s back by continuing to contest the party nomination or worse, consider an independent run.

If Sanders wants to stay behind the wheel of his own political revolution, he may not be able to steer it too closely to Clinton, even if that’s his intention. Some of the “Bernie or Bust” supporters would rather bust.

Clinton may yet find a way to attract a significant share of the Sanders nation. The Iowa Democratic Party put out a statement last week signed by two Sanders supporters and county party chairs who called for party unity in support of the Clinton campaign.

Judging from a recent poll in Iowa, there’s no time like the present. A Monmouth University poll of Iowa likely voters released last week showed Trump ahead of Clinton by only 2 percentage points, well within the poll’s margin of error. But that’s not the part Clinton should worry about.

Trump held a 51-32 percent advantage over Clinton with likely voters under age 50. While Clinton leads 50-38 percent over Trump with voters 50 and older, she can’t afford to cede younger voters to the GOP.

Ultimately it’s Clinton who has to win over skeptics. The right running mate might help, but only if he or she doesn’t get lost in Bernie’s shadow.