Tim Kaine as a VP pick

[KYRockefeller]

With hindsight, Booker probably would've helped drive Black turnout, which is a key reason Clinton lost. The cynic in me wonders if a Clinton-Warren ticket would've done even poorer with men.

Seeing as how Warren's presidential campaign really leaned into women's issues, especially by February, I have to think men would've gone harder for Trump because they wouldn't have had a lot to vote for with that ticket.

[KYRockefeller]

My big mark against Castro as a VP is that his support for more low income housing in suburbs while he was in HUD was not popular and could hurt with suburban voters.  Also, his advocacy of an open border is just a bad general election position.

Hillary's two best picks were either Sherrod Brown if she wanted to better target working class voters and tap into the anti-corporate side a bit or go with Booker to try to boost minority turnout.  I think either of those would have been better/more effective than Kaine.

[KYRockefeller]

History shows that suburban communities aren't keen on low income housing in their areas.  Trump's push on it is toxic because it's Trump (and there's a whole host of reasons Trump isn't getting any leverage on this issue but that's because voters are more concerned with the COVID pandemic) but if you dive into local politics, that issue is not going to be popular with voters there.  That's just a fact.  And we're talking in terms of 2016, which is a much different climate than 2020.