Julián Castro, the former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development who was being considered as Hillary Clinton’s running mate in 2016, described what the vice presidential vetting process was like for him as Vice President Harris prepares to announce her pick .
“It’s an arduous process,” Castro said in a post on social platform.
The former Obama administration official said he was notified he was under consideration in mid-June 2016 and that a team of investigators was assigned to investigate, each between two and three candidates.
Each candidate, he said, had to fill out a questionnaire that delved into different aspects of their story, while each team created a portfolio about each candidate under consideration.
“After this was delivered, each candidate sat with their vetting team for several hours to answer detailed questions,” he wrote. “They were direct and precise, exploring any potential political issues hidden in someone’s background. (Memories of Sarah Palin’s embarrassment loomed large this cycle). Some questions were also intended to put the candidate in doubt: ‘Would you have any problems if I picked up your phone right now (pointing to the cell phone) and took a look at it?’ In fact, they didn’t accept it.
Palin was chosen as then senator. Running mate of John McCain (R-Ariz.) in 2008. Palin soon found herself the target of heavy scrutiny of herself and her family, including her teenage daughter, who was pregnant at the time. McCain’s campaign was forced to answer questions about how highly the Alaska Republican had been rated.
McCain said at the time that “the vetting process was completely thorough.” He admitted years later, however, that he regretted choosing her.
Castro said that after each candidate was interviewed, the candidates participated in a follow-up interview, before the list was whittled down to six or seven people, with Clinton interviewing each of them.
He noted that Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine (D) was selected as the pick five weeks after the vetting process began.
“In 2016, speculation was that Clinton might choose a black or Latino man to balance the ticket. This year, the conventional wisdom is that a white man will be chosen. The good news is that Vice President Harris has several excellent options,” Castro wrote.
“Trump doubled his base with his pick of Vance, making Trump perhaps less competitive with independents than he would have been with a different pick,” he added. “This gives Vice President Harris a lot of freedom to select a running mate – a progressive or a moderate – who will not only help her win an election, but with whom she has great chemistry and will help her govern effectively.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D), Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) are among the candidates being considered by Harris for the No. 2 position, and she has interviewed potential choices last weekend.
A Harris campaign staffer noted that she was considering some of the same attributes to evaluate potential picks that were used in Biden’s 2020 selection process, including having shared values like protecting democracy and fighting for the middle class.
Different calculations go into how presidential candidates choose their running mate. For example, an important question is how the candidate could help expand the electoral map. At this point, Shapiro and Kelly reside in battleground swing states.
“Obviously, the most important thing here is to defeat Donald Trump, and you want to get someone to help you win. She’ll also say, ‘Could this person be president if I’m not around anymore?’” James Hamilton, a retired lawyer who helped presidential candidates including Hillary Clinton and former President Obama with vetting their running mates , told NPR in an interview.
“She will think about compatibility because if there is any discontent with the vice presidential candidate, it will spill over into the campaign.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
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