Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton neither embraced the idea of a female running mate nor ruled it out completely Monday.
When asked by “Today” anchor Savannah Guthrie if she would consider a female running mate, Clinton responded, “I would consider the qualified people of whom we have a large number in the democratic party because the most important choice is if something happens to the president, do you have full confidence that that person will step right in and do a great job for the country?”
She added, “That’s the most important thing to me and it doesn’t matter who that person is if that’s what I believe about him or her.”
The New York Times posed the idea of a two woman presidential ticket in March 2014, when potential VP picks for Clinton included: Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, and New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan. New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand would not qualify to be Clinton’s running mate as the Constitution prohibits the president and vice president to be being from the same state.
As far as Gillibrand is concerned, however, The Times point out that the Constitution’s inhabitant clause of the Twelfth Amendment disqualifies the electors from a particular state from voting for both offices. The measure, though, does not “explicitly prohibit the vice-presidential candidate from being from the same state as the president.”
If Clinton were to run with another woman it would not be the first time two women ran on the same ticket. The Green Party ran two women on a presidential ticket in 2012 — Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala.
The possibility seems unlikely for Clinton to do so. One of Clinton’s biggest advocates called it an unwise idea.
“It’s certainly possible to have two women,” California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, told The Times. She added, “I am not sure it’s wise. You want a ticket that represents men and women.”
Clinton’s thoughts on the matter came a day before it was reported that Vice President Joe Biden floated the idea that he would want Warren as his running mate. Warren, a popular figure among base Democrats, told CNN that she and Biden remain opposed to one another’s views on financial reform.
“His bet is that disaffection with Hillary will allow him to peel away some of her donors and operatives,” former Obama adviser David Axelrod told the Associated Press last week. According to Politico, Axelrod spoke with Biden about the race.