Bernie Sanders Is America’s Top Pick For Vice President, New Poll Says
Bernie Sanders is America’s number one choice for the post of Vice President, according to a new poll conducted by Monmouth University.
With speculations surrounding potential running mates for both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump amplifying considerably over the last few days, the poll sought to understand which vice presidential candidate would potentially most benefit — or hurt — the chances of their respective presidential candidates. While most of the 12 candidates — six from each party — appeared to have no major impact on how voters chose their president, Bernie Sanders stood out among the names in the list, showing that if he were to be Hillary Clinton’s running mate, a major chunk of voters would vote for the former Secretary of State, reports The Huffington Post.
“The Monmouth University Poll tested 12 possible vice presidential picks – six from each party – and found that most would have no appreciable impact on voter support. Two names do stand out, however: Bernie Sanders, who could attract undecided voters to the Democratic column, and Sarah Palin, who could potentially hurt the GOP ticket.”
The results of the new poll come quick on the heels of Bernie Sanders’ admission on MSNBC on Friday night that he would be voting for Hillary Clinton in an attempt to stop Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump from becoming the next president of the United States.
JUST IN: @BernieSanders says "yes," he will vote for @HillaryClinton in November https://t.co/6FT0ZLi0JG
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) June 24, 2016
According to the poll, Bernie Sanders defeated his Democratic competitors — which included Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, and Minnesota Senator Al Franken — by a long way. About 39 percent of people who took part in the poll said that they would be “more likely” to vote for Hillary Clinton if she picked Bernie Sanders to be her running mate.
With a positive net rating of about 19 percent, Sanders was also the most popular vice presidential pick among candidates from both parties. Even more incredibly, about 50 percent of undecided voters said that they would be “more likely” to vote for Hillary Clinton if Sanders was her vice presidential pick.
And while the results of the new poll would be music to a section of Bernie Sanders’ supporters, sources within the upper echelons of Democratic Party reportedly told the Wall Street Journal that the Vermont Senator is not being vetted to be Hillary Clinton’s running mate.
On the other hand, Elizabeth Warren, who is likely being considered to be Clinton’s running mate, only has a net positive rating of 3 percent, with about 21 percent of Americans saying that they would be “less likely” to vote for Hillary Clinton if she chose Warren as her Vice President.
On the Republican side, no potential vice presidential candidate appeared to make a significantly positive impact. However, if Donald Trump was to pick 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin as his running mate, it would considerably hurt his chances. With a net negative rating of about 29 percent, Palin fared the worst among all the Republican candidates in the list, which also included Florida Senator Marco Rubio, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, and Senator Joni Ernst.
It is unlikely that either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump would choose their running mates based on the results of opinion polls, but if the Monmouth University poll is anything to go by, voters still want Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders to have a major say in deciding who goes to the White House come November.
Would you want Bernie Sanders as America’s next Vice President?
[Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images]
