WikiLeaks: Sen. Amy Klobuchar was on Clinton VP list of 38
MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar was one of 38 names on a list of possible running mates for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, according to an email published Tuesday by WikiLeaks. The list was divided into “food groups” by race, gender, business experience and other attributes.
The email was among 50,000 purported messages from the Gmail account of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta. The email was sent after Clinton’s sweep of 5 primaries on March 15 in Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio and North Carolina. The wins followed an unexpected loss to Bernie Sanders earlier in the month.
“Ok, I can breathe again! Congrats on a fabulous night,” Podesta wrote. “I am feeling like it’s possible to get back to the longer term again.”
The list of potential vice president picks was built by Podesta in consultation with Clinton aides Cheryl Mills, Robby Mook, Jake Sullivan, Huma Abedin and Jennifer Palmieri. Podesta wrote that he organized the candidates in “rough food groups.” The groups included:
Rep. Xavier Becerra (California), Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Secretary of Labor Tom Perez and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. Shared quality: All Hispanic.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (Wisconsin), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (New York), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota), Sen. Claire McCaskill (Missouri), Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire), Sen. Debbie Stabenow (Michigan) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts). Shared quality: All women.
Sen. Michael Bennet (Colorado), Sen. Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Sen. Martin Heinrich (New Mexico), Sen. Tim Kaine (Virginia), Gov. Terry McAuliffe (Virginia), Sen. Chris Murphy (Connecticut) and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. Shared quality: All white men.
Columbia, South Carolina Mayor Stephen Benjamin, Sen. Cory Booker (New Jersey), Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, former Attorney General Eric Holder, former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx. Shared quality: All black men.
Gen. John Allen, Adm. William McCraven and Adm. Michael Mullen. Shared quality: All military leaders.
GM CEO Mary Barra, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Xerox CEO Ursula Burns, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, philanthropist Melinda Gates, Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent, Rockefeller Foundation President Judith Rodin and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. Shared quality: All business or tech leaders.
Sen. Bernie Sanders stood alone on the list.