Harry Reid views Elizabeth Warren as someone who can unite the Democratic Party after the longer-than-expected primary battle. | AP Photo Source: Reid promoting Warren for VP

Harry Reid is quietly promoting Elizabeth Warren as a top pick to be Hillary Clinton’s running mate, and the Senate minority leader is already looking into Massachusetts law to see how quickly her Senate seat could be filled if Warren were to ascend to the vice presidency, a source close to him said Friday.

Reid views Warren as someone who can unite the Democratic Party after the longer-than-expected primary battle between Clinton and Bernie Sanders, the source said. The person confirmed a Boston Globe story that reported Reid is actively researching the state’s special election rules.


“He thinks Warren is a good choice to unify the party,” the person close to Reid said.

This is a shift of sorts for Reid, who said recently that he would object to Clinton choosing as vice-presidential nominee any Democratic senator from a state led by a GOP governor with the authority to name the senator's successor. That could create another hurdle for Democrats looking to regain Senate control this fall.

“If we have a Republican governor in any of those states the answer is not only no, but hell no,” Reid said in an MSNBC interview last month. “I would do whatever I can and I think most of my Democratic colleagues here would say the same thing.”

That stand from Reid would appear to eliminate Warren, because Massachusetts is led by Republican Gov. Charlie Baker, as well as Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Cory Booker of New Jersey. The source close to Reid declined to say whether the senator is looking into similar rules in other states.

Aides to Warren declined to comment.