Vice presidential speculation megathread

[Kingpoleon]

Scott Brown is perfect for all three of the Republicans left. He rallies Trump and Kasich types, uniting that branch, which is crucial for all three of them.

Ron Wyden and Al Franken seem like the best choices for Hillary. I think Evan Bayh or Martin O'Malley would be good picks for Sanders.

[Kingpoleon]

ok so let me save you some time and just speculate every sitting US Senator and Governor

Also, US Rep.'s, all Cabinet secretaries, and all Mayors of the top ten cities over the last twenty years.

[Kingpoleon]

What are the chances that, if Trump somehow secures the Republican nomination, Hillary decides to target "establishment" Republicans  and goes with some theoretically moderate but well known GOP figure for VP (Hunstman, or even Rice, as hypotheticals)?

Near 0; she'd win some Republicans, but lose the Sandernistas.

Because the Sandernistas are big in states like GA, NC, FL, MO, IN, VA, and etc.?

Someone like Scott Brown if Ted Cruz is nominated seems most likely to me. Of course, Brown probably wouldn't accept. Maybe Powell?

[Kingpoleon]

Thing is, Cruz/Brown is a ticket whose total experience is 7 years in the Senate. That's...not a lot.

Cruz needs a governor or a prominent businessman/military type. Walker and Haley are the two most logical choices if he decides to go the first route, with Mitch Daniels or John Kasich being dark horses if they really want it. (Tim Pawlenty, who's already been vetted twice, might've been very logical, but he's moved on to lobbying, so probably not; Brian Sandoval might be too moderate, and there'd be visible disagreements between the top and bottom of the ticket). James Mattis, a retired general who is also renowned for speaking his mind, might be an effective way of appealing to _trump folks without alienating everyone else (or Stanley McChrystal could serve basically the same function). Not sure who a choice from the business world would be -- the only names coming to mind are Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman, who both have very obvious problems.

EDIT: McChrystal has a history of endorsing congressional Democrats and speaking out in favor of gun control (apparently, he was involved in Seth Moulton's 2014 campaign) -- as _trump showed, this doesn't necessarily have to be a deal-breaker, but I'm inclined to think for Ted Cruz it would be.

7 years in the Senate is more than Bush/Cheney, Romney/Ryan, and Reagan/Bush, and about as much as Bush/Quayle, Clinton/Gore, Carter/Mondale, Ford/Dole, Mondale/Ferraro, and Nixon/Agnew.