A year ago, coming up with a list of vice-president possibilities to run along Bernie Sanders would have seemed like a ludicrous waste of time and effort. But that was before so many Americans, especially young voters, began to “feel the Bern.”
Related: 25 Picks For Bernie Sanders' Vice President
In early March, 2015, Gallup looked at favorable ratings for potential Democratic candidates. It found that among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, Hillary Clinton had a 79 percent favorable rating vs. 64 percent for Vice President Joe Biden, 37 percent for Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and 21 percent for Sanders.
Today, the Real Clear Politics average of national polls puts Clinton at 47.6 percent to 42 percent for Sanders (Biden and Warren, of course, are not actively seeking the nomination). The former Secretary of State barely eked out a victory over the self-styled democratic socialist in the Iowa Caucuses, he blew her doors off in the New Hampshire primary and may be gaining on her in South Carolina, which holds its primary on Feb. 27. The RCP poll average for South Carolina today gives Clinton 57.4 percent to 33.3 for Sanders.
In Saturday’s Nevada Caucuses, Clinton leads, but barely. According to the RCP average, she is at 48.7 percent to 46.3 percent for Sanders.
So it now doesn’t seem so far-fetched to think about whom Sanders might choose as a running mate were he to pull off a spectacular upset and secure the Democratic nomination for president. His pick could be as surprising as his out-of-nowhere rise.
Click here to see 25 Picks For Bernie Sanders' Vice President
