With Bernie Sanders pulling off an upset win in Wisconsin yesterday, it looks like Secretary Clinton could use a boost in momentum to secure the Democratic nomination.
Bill Daley, the ex-chief of staff to President Barack Obama and commerce secretary under President Bill Clinton, offered his advice to Secretary Clinton on CNBC. Daley stated that Clinton will need help to ensure democratic votes if she wins the primary. With viral campaigns like #bernieorbust, Clinton will have to work hard to garner votes from younger, more liberal Bernie supporters if she wants to win the general election.
Daley, though, is confident that Clinton will win the nomination. He states:
“You have Sanders who’s very popular amongst a large part of the Democratic base, and obviously is moving with an energy towards the end. This will continue into June. But I think there’s no question Hillary is going to get the numbers needed to be nominated.”
Daley offered a few suggestions on VP picks who he believes would help Clinton in the general election in a “Squawk Box” segment on CNBC.
Daley offered the name Tim Kaine, who is a current U.S. Senator from Virginia. Daley describes Kaine as “somewhat moderate” but “progressive on things” that would matter in an election. Kaine is a former chairman on the Democratic National Committee.
The more interesting name floated is Senator Al Franken from Minnesota, who is much more likely to draw a younger, more Bernie-friendly crowd. First known as a comedian who wrote and performed for NBC’s “Saturday Night Live,” Daley said that Franken has been “a very serious senator since he’s been [in the Senate].”
Clinton has been both criticized and lauded for her stance as a moderate progressive, but many believe that she will need to pull herself more to the left to attract higher voter turnout from younger, liberal voters. Senator Kaine keeps Clinton’s campaign strongly moderate, which may gain her support from conservative-leaning, anti-Trump voters, but is unlikely to inspire high turnout. Senator Franken’s strongly liberal views may be exactly what Clinton needs.
Political talking heads were wrong when they declared Senator Sanders unelectable in the primary elections. It would be a mistake to declare the same for Senator Franken.
Featured image: Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images.
