Who Will it Be? Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, needs to pick a running mate for his campaign against President Bush. Here are the people whose experience and skills appear to make them contenders. Use the Veep-O-Matic 2004 to see who might make Kerry's short list. Sen. Evan Bayh (Ind.) Indiana's first-term senator and former governor represents a state that hasn't voted Democratic in a presidential race since 1964. But some leading Democrats still suggest Bayh's centrist politics and popularity at home could help the party's ticket in other Midwestern battleground states. Bayh is a member of the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Armed Services Committee and chairman of the middle-of-the-road Democratic Leadership Council -- a post formerly occupied by Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton before he was elected president and Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.) before he became his party's 2000 vice presidential nominee. One negative: A lackluster performance as the keynote speaker at his party's national convention in 1996. The son of a popular former Indiana governor and senator, Bayh resisted suggestions that he come home this year to run for a third term as governor and is instead running for reelection to the Senate. back to results Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (Del.) The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's ranking Democrat has been among his party's most vocal and visible spokesmen on international issues. As former chairman of the Judiciary Committee, Biden also led the fight against some controversial Republican judicial appointments in the 1980s and early 1990s, including the successful effort to block Robert H. Bork's Supreme Court nomination in 1997 and an unsuccessful effort to scuttle the nomination of Clarence Thomas four years later. An eloquent speaker and an able fundraiser when he ran for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination, Biden's White House run sputtered amid excavated charges of plagiarism from his law school days and a damning videotape circulated by a rival campaign that showed him appropriating passages from a former leader of Britain's Labor Party without attribution or credit. back to results Former senator Carol Moseley Braun (Ill.) Kerry's former Senate colleague is as much a long shot for the Number Two spot on the Democratic ticket as she was in the race for the party's presidential nomination. The first black woman elected to the Senate in 1992, Braun was defeated for a second term in 1998. Hit with attacks by her opponent on her ethics and record, the former federal prosecutor also faced questions about her meetings with a former Nigerian dictator and unproven allegations about misused campaign funds. After Braun's reelection defeat, President Bill Clinton named her ambassador to New Zealand -- a post she won despite the strenuous objections of then-Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms (N.C.), her frequent foe when she served in Congress. As a presidential candidate in 2004, Braun's strong debate performances did not raise her standing in national polls or help her raise money for her campaign. She dropped out of the race shortly before the first votes were cast in the Jan. 19 Iowa caucuses -- and endorsed another Kerry rival, former Vermont governor Howard Dean. back to results Retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark As NATO commander, Clark led allied forces in the 1999 air war that drove Serbian forces from Kosovo. As a presidential candidate, the retired Army general's first and only win was the Oklahoma primary. A decorated Vietnam veteran, like Kerry, Clark began his first-ever run for elected office in September 2003. With endorsements from notable Democrats, a staff of top party operatives and strong initial poll numbers, Clark's war chest filled quickly too. But the novice candidate came under fire for bungling answers on his position about the war in Iraq and abortion and was attacked by rivals for positive statements he made about Bush's national security team at a GOP fundraiser before deciding he was a Democrat. His admission that he had voted for Republicans in past presidential races didn't help. Clark dropped out of the race after his Oklahoma win. But his national security credentials might be welcome on a Kerry ticket. back to results Former senator Max Cleland (Ga.) A Vietnam veteran who lost both of his legs and his right arm to a grenade in 1968, Cleland was ousted from his Senate seat after one term in 2002 in a tight race with Republican Rep. Saxby Chambliss. Cleland had voted for Bush's tax cuts and for the 2002 resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq. But a Chambliss campaign ad criticized Cleland's votes against a Republican homeland security bill and showed pictures of the Democrat, Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. The widely denounced ad, which was criticized by two of Cleland's Republican colleagues and fellow Vietnam vets in the Senate, made the Georgia senator's ouster a rallying cry for national Democrats -- despite his strong backing of many Bush administration policies while he was in Congress. Known as an inspirational speaker, Cleland has campaigned actively for Kerry. back to results Hillary Rodham Clinton The former first lady and freshman senator from New York opted out of the 2004 presidential race, saying she owed it to her constituents to fill out the term to which she was elected in 2000. Supporters and opponents alike suspect Clinton eventually will seek to return to the White House, this time as president -- perhaps in 2008 or 2012. At the same time, Clinton appears to be enjoying her influence as a lawmaker. As a possible running mate, Clinton would bring to the ticket a huge fundraising base, a national reputation and strong support among Democrats. At the same time, many on the right loathe Clinton, and opponents would greet her nomination with questions about past controversies, including her roles in the Whitewater land deal and her husband's failed healthcare initiative, which she led. back to results Sen. Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.) A year before the Iowa caucuses, the Senate minority leader surprised many of his congressional colleagues when he announced that he was passing up the chance to run for president in 2000 -- even as aides were preparing for a campaign announcement in his home town of Aberdeen, S.D. In addition to the growing field of candidates in the presidential race, Daschle was facing the possibility of a very tough campaign to win a fourth term back home -- in a state where 60 percent of the voters backed Bush in 2000. As Democratic leader in the Senate, Daschle was a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq. But he also takes positions that, while popular in South Dakota, put him at odds with many in his own party -- such as his decision to support legislation that would protect gun manufacturers and dealers from legal liability for crimes that are committed without their knowledge. back to results Former Vermont governor Howard Dean Perhaps the biggest obstacle to former Vermont governor Howard Dean's chances of becoming the Democratic vice presidential nominee is the aggressive primary campaign he waged against not just Kerry, but all members of Congress who voted to support the war in Iraq. His aggressive campaign may also make him a good choice. Dean's anti-war, anti-Bush rhetoric was ultimately adopted by Kerry. Aided by his campaign's innovative use of the Internet, Dean raised more money than any Democratic primary candidate -- ever. Dean's place on the ticket would bring the party a fiery orator and a candidate with executive experience. However, questions about his volatility, his lack of national security experience and his failure to win any primary would be factors if he were tapped as Kerry's running mate. All in all, selecting Dean would energize some voters and repel others. back to results Sen. John Edwards (N.C.) In 2000, pressure from political consultants Bob Shrum and Tad Devine helped make Edwards the runner-up in Al Gore's hunt for a vice presidential candidate. Shrum and Devine are now consultants to Kerry. Edwards, a freshman in the Senate who is not seeking reelection, continued to raise his national profile after being passed over as Gore's running mate, both as a fundraiser with his New American Optimists PAC and as the presidential candidate who posed the last serious threat to Kerry's nomination. During the primaries, Edwards argued he was the candidate who could most strongly challenge Bush in the Republican-dominated South. But Edwards went on to win only one Southern primary -- in his birth state of South Carolina. Throughout the primaries, Democrats across the country gave Edwards high marks for connecting with their daily lives. His charm has been compared -- favorably and unfavorably -- to the style of former president Bill Clinton. back to results Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) California's senior senator was first elected in 1992 -- the "year of the woman" that saw the number of women serving in Congress jump from 32 to 54. In the Senate, Feinstein is best known for having won passage of a federal assault weapon ban in 1994 -- a major achievement for gun control advocates. Feinstein's own experience becoming mayor of San Francisco 16 years earlier, when a former member of the board of supervisors murdered her predecessor and another board member, made her an especially effective advocate for the ban, which is set to expire this year. In 1984, former vice president Walter F. Mondale considered choosing then-Mayor Feinstein as his running mate before going with New York Rep. Geraldine Ferraro instead. This time things could turn out differently. back to results Rep. Richard A. Gephardt (Mo.) Despite an early exit from the presidential race, the 14-term congressman is known for being experienced, loyal, disciplined, hard working and scandal-free. Gephardt's opposition to free trade pacts and support among organized labor, particularly manufacturing union members, would be key to Kerry's campaign in Midwestern states, where the job losses will be a major campaign issue. Gephardt's popularity in his home state of Missouri could also tip into the Democratic column a crucial swing state that went for Bush in 2000. Also supporting his case is his quick endorsement of Kerry. One of his senior advisers, Steve Elmendorf, now serves as Kerry's deputy campaign manager. Liabilities for Gephardt stem from a distant fourth place finish in Iowa, a caucus he won during his first presidential run in 1988. Also haunting Gephardt has been his failure to win back control of Congress during his tenure as House Democratic Leader, a post he gave up to run for president. Gephardt is not running for reelection. back to results Sen. Bob Graham (Fla.) Before making his own bid for the presidency this cycle, the Florida senator had been a perennial contender for running mate. But this year, two things may bolster Graham's chances: Florida and al Qaeda. Democrats are smarting badly from the 537 vote deficit in Florida that cost them the presidency in 2000. Graham is probably the state's most popular Democrat, with more than 30 undefeated years of political campaigns, including two bids for governor and three for the U.S. Senate. Graham, who is the former chairman of the Senate intelligence committee and was holding a secret meeting on terrorism when planes struck the World Trade Center and Pentagon in 2001, has sharply criticized the Bush administration for intelligence shortcomings and for focusing on Saddam Hussein rather than Osama bin Laden. Despite his popularity in Florida, Graham never gained any traction in his bid for the Democratic nomination and was the first candidate to drop out. back to results Former senator Bob Kerrey (Neb.) The biggest obstacle to Kerrey's choice as the Democrats' vice presidential nominee is his name, which was often confused with that of John Kerry when they served together in the Senate. That both were decorated for Vietnam War heroics both adds to Kerrey's appeal and to the confusion. A former Navy Seal, Kerry won a Congressional Medal of Honor after losing part of his leg in a commando raid in 1969. Kerrey served one term as governor of Nebraska and was elected to the Senate twice. In 1992, he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, challenging Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton -- whom he would later famously call "an unusually good liar." Kerrey currently runs New School University in New York and serves as a member of the bipartisan commission that is investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States. Revelations in recent years about Kerrey's involvement in missions in Vietnam that ended with the death of civilians could be an issue if he ever runs again for national office. back to results Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich (Ohio) The liberal congressman from Ohio was a vocal opponent to the war in Iraq during his first presidential campaign this year. He proposes cutting the Defense Department's budget by 15 percent, and wants to establish a federal Department of Peace. Although Kucinich raised only $7.5 million for his bid and won only 20 delegates in state primaries and caucuses, he is from the battleground state of Ohio, although he lost that state's presidential primary to Kerry. Bush won Ohio in 2000 by 4 percentage points. Kucinich, who is in his fourth term in the House, could also help shore up support for Kerry among potential Ralph Nader voters. But the offbeat primary candidate would be an unlikely choice for Kerry. back to results Sen. Mary Landrieu (La.) Landrieu, a second-term senator from one of Louisiana's most political families, would be a moderating influence on the Democratic ticket. Her moderation has brought her victory in a state that voted for Bush in 2000 and generally trends Republican. In ads aired during her 2002 reelection campaign, she noted that only two senators were more supportive of Bush’s initiatives. Initially, Landrieu supported the presidential campaigns of Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.) and retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark before eventually stumping for the more liberal Kerry. A Kerry-Landrieu ticket might set the mark for the most appealing presidential pairing ever – Elle magazine called Kerry "the sexiest man in politics" in 1998, and Landrieu was on Playboy’s list of "Washington’s sexiest power brokers" in 2000. back to results Rep. John Lewis (Ga.) Lewis has never run a national campaign, but the nine-term congressman from Atlanta has a national reputation as a veteran leader of the 1960s civil rights movement, and he was an adviser to Robert F. Kennedy during his presidential campaign. He is the candidate who, by far, has the longest and deepest ties to the black political community that rose out of the southern churches. His February endorsement of Kerry helped secure the nominee’s victory in the Georgia primary and undermine the notion that a senator from Massachusetts couldn’t win in the South. Lewis has long been a harsh critic of Bush, boycotting his inauguration. Lewis has one of the most liberal voting records in the House, according to the National Journal, and is one of the most loyal and partisan Democrats. However, his colleagues spurned his 1999 bid to become his party’s House whip. back to results Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.) Al Gore's choice for a running mate in 2000, Lieberman made a name for himself in the Senate championing centrist-to-conservative positions, such as his crusade against violent video games and TV programming. But the Connecticut senator's strong backing of Bush's Iraq policies -- and his frequent scolding of the other Democratic primary candidates for not following suit -- might give the Bush campaign plenty of ammunition against a Kerry-Lieberman ticket. Lieberman, held off announcing his presidential candidacy until Gore decided to forego a possible rematch with Bush. Gore did not return the favor and endorsed former Vermont governor Howard Dean instead of his 2000 ticket-mate. Based on Lieberman's name recognition from the previous election, the senator polled strongly in national surveys early in the '04 race. But he did poorly in early primaries and caucuses and quickly ended his campaign. back to results Sen. Blanche Lincoln (Ark.) Elected from Bill Clinton's home state in the middle of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, Lincoln is finishing her first term and seeking reelection this fall. The daughter of an Arkansas farmer, Lincoln comes from a Southern state that Bush carried in 2000. In the Senate, she is best known for overcoming the opposition of the White House and Republican congressional leaders to make a tax credit for children refundable to low-income families who already paid little or no income tax. Lincoln was a Capitol Hill staffer and a lobbyist before she was elected to the U.S. House in 1992, beating her former boss, Rep. Bill Alexander (D). In 1996, after learning she was pregnant with twins, Lincoln decided not to run for reelection. Two years later, she ran for the seat of retiring Sen. Dale Bumpers, winning with 55 percent of the vote. Some of Lincoln's positions, such as her opposition to the Brady Bill handgun law, would be popular in parts of the South -- but not necessarily among party activists at the Democratic National Convention. back to results Gov. Janet Napolitano (Ariz.) In 2002 Napolitano won her first gubernatorial term in a swing state that has more Republicans than Democrats and that favored Bush with 51 percent of the vote in 2000. A former U.S. attorney, Napolitano was one of Anita Hill's lawyers during Clarence Thomas's Supreme Court confirmation hearings, but didn’t run for public office until her successful 1998 bid for state attorney general. Napolitano is on the conservative side of the Democratic Party, although she also enjoys some union support. She could help Kerry win in the West, but she has liabilities as well: in a year when voters in Midwest swing states are sensitive about the exportation of manufacturing jobs, Napolitano makes no bones about saying that NAFTA has helped her border state. back to results Sen. Bill Nelson (Fla.) Nelson, the freshman senator from Florida, has spend nearly 30 years in public office. His appearance on the national scene came in 1986 when then-congressman Nelson flew aboard the space shuttle. In 2000, Nelson picked up Florida's open Senate seat from Republicans, even as presidential candidate Al Gore lost the state. He is a member of the Senate armed services and foreign relations committees and went to Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He is an Army veteran and devout Christian with a squeaky clean image and has a history of picking up votes in traditionally Republican territories. back to results Gov. Edward G. Rendell (Pa.) Elected governor in 2002, Rendell is a tough campaigner and has a proven ability to raise money. Rendell chaired the Democratic National Committee during the 2000 elections. But he is probably best know as the mayor who rescued Philadelphia from the brink of bankruptcy in the 1990s and oversaw the revival of the city's historic downtown district. To do that, however, he had to slash city spending and face down union threats, leading to protests by local union officials and appeals from national leaders. The union movement, generally a powerful force in Democratic presidential campaigns, might have problems with this choice. Rendell was elected Philadelphia district attorney in 1977 and 1981 before winning the mayor's post in 1991. The choice of Rendell, who is Jewish, has been publicly recommended by a group of Kerry fundraisers, who argue that Rendell could help energize the Jewish constituency for Kerry and help bring in campaign contributions. back to results Gov. Bill Richardson (N.M.) Richardson is a popular swing-state governor who could bring to the ticket a balance of experience both inside and outside of the Beltway. As possibly the country's most celebrated and courted Latino politician, Richardson would help Kerry gain support among the country's largest minority group. He is a dynamic campaigner and a moderate with experience in both domestic and foreign policy. As governor, Richardson has maintained his visibility on national issues, appearing frequently on television to discuss energy policy, especially after the August 2003 blackouts, and U.S. relations with North Korea, a country with which he has been a frequent official and unofficial intermediary. During his seven terms in the House, he rose to be chief deputy whip. In the Clinton administration, he was U.N. Ambassador and Energy Secretary. While U.N. Ambassador, Richardson offered a job to Monica Lewinsky at the request of a White House staffer. As Energy Secretary he was criticized for his handling of alleged security breaches at Los Alamos National Laboratory. These political liabilities helped keep him from graduating off the short list of Al Gore's possible running mates in 2000. back to results Former Treasury secretary Robert E. Rubin Rubin was one of the most respected and influential members of the Clinton administration. His strong stewardship of the booming U.S. economy during the 1990s garnered commendations from both politicians and Wall Street. He was credited with helping engineer Clinton's signature domestic accomplishment: shrinking the deficit and reducing inflation. A reserved, unflappable administrator, Rubin came to Washington after leaving the co-chairmanship of Goldman Sachs and never steeped himself into the Washington culture or sought a political reputation. He left the administration to return to New York, where he serves on the boards of Citigroup Inc., and is an executive there. His name surfaced again in 2002, when it became public that he had called a senior Treasury official seeking help for embattled Enron Corp. as it was trying to avoid bankruptcy. A Senate panel that investigated the matter later said he did not violate federal laws or regulations. back to results Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius Sebelius is in the middle of her first term as governor of a reliably Republican state, which Bush carried two years before her election. Before becoming governor, Sebelius spent two terms as Kansas state insurance commissioner and eight years in the state legislature. Politics is a family business for her and her husband. Sebelius is the daughter of a former Ohio governor and congressman, John J. Gilligan, and her husband is the son of a former Republican congressman from Kansas. Her Midwestern roots might help the Democratic ticket -- although Sebelius might not be the most popular candidate in neighboring Missouri, a key swing state in 2004. During her gubernatorial campaign two years ago, Sebelius apologized to the "show me" state after saying "the roads in Missouri are much more terrifying to me than the attacks on the World Trade Center because I really did think my life was far more at risk," according to an account in the Kansas City Star. Sebelius opposes capital punishment. back to results Former New Hampshire governor Jeanne Shaheen When she was elected to her first two-year term in 1996, Shaheen broke a 15-year Republican lockhold on the state's top office. She won reelection twice but was defeated in her bid for a U.S. Senate seat in 2002 by John Sununu, the son of a former New Hampshire governor and chief of staff for president George H.W. Bush. She was deeply involved in vice president Al Gore's tight 2000 primary campaign in New Hampshire against former senator Bill Bradley and was mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate for Gore. She was a key strategist in Kerry's campaign in the state this year. New Hampshire is expected to be one of the key states in play during the fall campaign, and Shaheen's experience there could be helpful. In addition, she was born in Missouri and attended college in Pennsylvania, two other states expected to be presidential battlegrounds. back to results Donna E. Shalala, former HHS secretary The president of the University of Miami in Florida, the ultimate battleground state, was secretary of Health and Human Services throughout the Clinton administration. Despite her Cabinet tenure and an earlier stint as assistant secretary of housing and urban development in the Carter administration, Shalala is less of a Washington insider than many other possible running mates. During the Monica Lewinsky investigation, she rankled the president with critical remarks when he tried to apologize for his conduct during a private meeting with Cabinet members in September 1998. Her time at HHS gives Shalala expertise in many health care issues that Kerry might value. Before Clinton's election, Shalala served as president of Hunter College in New York and chancellor of the University of Wisconsin in Madison. At the University of Miami since 2001, she was deeply involved in talks over the school's move to the Atlantic Coast Conference. The former champion tennis player has less experience in international affairs, although she served in the Peace Corps in Iran in 1972. back to results Activist Al Sharpton The youngest candidate in the original Democratic presidential field and one of two black candidates, Sharpton has earned a reputation as a gadfly that would make him a difficult choice for Kerry. With no real hope of winning, he ran in part to stake his claim as a national leader of African Americans. His debate performances often stole the show during the Democratic primaries. A Pentecostal minister and former road manager for singer James Brown, Sharpton came to prominence in New York City as a civil rights activist in the 1980s. But his reputation was damaged by his advocacy in the case of Tawana Brawley, a 15-year-old girl who charged that she had been abducted and raped by a group of white men. The story turned out to be a hoax, and a white assistant district attorney whom Sharpton accused of involvement in the attack subsequently won a lawsuit for defamation. Sharpton ran unsuccessfully in Democratic primaries for the New York state Senate, the U.S. Senate and mayor of New York before deciding to run for president. He was the founder of a civil rights group called the National Action Network. back to results Gov. Tom Vilsack (Iowa) Vilsack would bring an outside Washington persona to help balance the ticket. He currently heads the Democratic Governors' Association and has been involved in a variety of policy initiatives put forth by that group and the bipartisan National Governors' Association. He has been among a handful of governors seeking to import lower-cost pharmaceuticals from Canada for state employees in an effort to cut state health care costs. He was elected governor in 1998 but faced a difficult reelection campaign as Iowa struggled with the 2001 fiscal crunch that created shortfalls in state governments around the country. He has campaigned tirelessly to boost Iowa's working population and offset the increasing number of retirees in the state. He championed a proposal to get more than 300,000 foreign workers to settle in Iowa and travels around the country encouraging many former residents to return home. back to results Gov. Mark R. Warner (Va.) The governor's office is Warner's first elected position. But the wealthy entrepreneur from the Washington suburbs is not new to politics. In 1996, he unsuccessfully challenged popular Republican Sen. John W. Warner (no relation) using his personal fortune to mount a campaign that was practically written off before it started. Prior to that, he served as leader of Virginia's Democratic Party. Considered a convincing salesman for his policies, Gov. Warner has struggled to work with a Republican-controlled legislature to balance the budget and has failed to win voter support for regional ballot measures intended to boost taxes to help pay for new education and transportation initiatives. Warner backed Kerry for the Democratic nomination and actively campaigned for him in Virginia's primary, in which the senator from Massachusetts beat two southerner rivals -- Sen. John Edwards of neighboring North Carolina and retired Army Gen. Wesley K. Clark of Arkansas. Under Virginia's single-term limit for governors, Warner cannot run for reelection in 2005. back to results
© 2004 The Washington Post Company | |  Who will Sen. John F. Kerry pick to be his running mate? (AP - File) | |   | |