--- title: Hillary Clinton Wikileaks: Her Vice Presidential Picks description: Hillary Clinton's aides considered a surprising array of running mates, including business executives, lawmakers and military leaders. canonical: https://time.com/4534899/hillary-clinton-wikileaks-running-mates/ author: Sam Frizell article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-10-18T14:59:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:48:01.027Z article:section: Politics og:title: Read the Surprising List of Clinton's Potential Running Mates og:description: The CEO of Starbucks, Bill Gates and Bernie Sanders. og:url: https://time.com/4534899/hillary-clinton-wikileaks-running-mates/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt16c345d2a1665622/69889f09428a9ea7fbcd391b/clinton-kaine-interview.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Hillary Clinton Miami Rally og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Read the Surprising List of Clinton's Potential Running Mates twitter:description: The CEO of Starbucks, Bill Gates and Bernie Sanders. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt16c345d2a1665622/69889f09428a9ea7fbcd391b/clinton-kaine-interview.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Read the Surprising List of Hillary Clinton's Potential Running Mates > Sponsored content. 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It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=acfb1b65-97c1-400f-9869-8a04342327af&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Tim Kaine’s Speech at the Democratic Convention [Watch (HLS stream): Tim Kaine’s Speech at the Democratic Convention](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/x0jXrhwK.m3u8) (2:02)  _Published 2016-07-28. Tim Kaine made his solo national debut as Hillary Clinton’s running mate at the Democratic national convention Wednesday, sharing his life story and sharpening his attacks on Donald Trump._ by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Oct 18, 2016 2:59 PM UTC  Hillary Clinton and Democratic vice presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine attend a campaign rally at Florida International University Panther Arena in Miami, Fla., on July 23, 2016. Hillary Clinton and Democratic vice presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine attend a campaign rally at Florida International University Panther Arena in Miami, Fla., on July 23, 2016. Alexander Tamargo—WireImage/Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Oct 18, 2016 2:59 PM UTC If it hadn’t been Tim Kaine, it might have been Tim Cook. Hillary Clinton’s aides considered the Apple CEO among a surprising array of potential vice presidential candidates, including business executives, lawmakers and military leaders, before settling on the Virginia Senator, internal campaign emails published on Wikileaks show. Among a list of preliminary names sent to Clinton in March 2016 were General Motors CEO Mary Barra, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, both Bill and Melinda Gates, former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, U.S. Navy Admiral Bill McRaven and Marine Corps four-star general John Allen. Also on what list were more traditional candidates, such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gillibrand, Sherrod Brown and Bernie Sanders, as well as Kaine. The names come from the hacked email account of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, whose emails have been posted on the website Wikileaks. The Clinton campaign has not verified their authenticity. In Podesta’s email to Clinton, he tells the Democratic nominee that he has organized the names “in rough food groups” and assembled teams of lawyers to vet and profile the possible vice presidential candidates. It is unclear whether Clinton responded to Podesta, as Wikileaks has not published a return email. It is clear from the list, however, that is an early-stage draft. The Clinton campaign has accused Russia of meddling in the election and seeking to help elect Donald Trump, and several news outlets have reported that the FBI suspects Russia is responsible for the hack of Podesta’s emails. The email suggests the Clinton campaign was closely considering the ethnicity and gender of their vice presidential pick. One group of names appeared to be Latino lawmakers, such as Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. Another group includes women lawmakers like Sen. Jeanne Shaheen and Sen. Tammy Baldwin, and yet another is white male lawmakers, including Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia and Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado. Another group of names consists of black male politicians—former Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, former attorney general Eric Holder and Sen. Cory Booker, for example—and another includes the military leaders. Finally, there are the business executives, including Xerox CEO Ursula Burns and Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent, as well as Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, choices that may have served Clinton well against Donald Trump. Ultimately, Clinton decided on Kaine, a well-respected and avuncular lawmaker who is expected to have a smooth relationship with former president Bill Clinton as well as Hillary. ## Transcript I humbly accept my party's nomination to be Vice- President of the United States. I took a year off from law school to volunteer with Jesuit missionaries in Honduras. I taught kids how to be welders and carpenters. [ APPLAUSE ] [ FOREIGN ] [ NOISE ] I worked on the budget committee with our great democratic leader of that committee. A spectacular Senator who used to be a Mayor of her months Bernie Sanders. [ NOISE ] Everybody we all should feel the burn And we all should not wanna get burned by the other guy. [ APPLAUSE ] Trump is a guy who promises a lot. It's gonna be great. Believe me. [ LAUGH ] We're gonna build a wall and make Mexico pay for it, believe me. We're gonna destroy ISIS so fast, believe me. There's nothing suspicious in my tax returns, believe me. [ APPLAUSE ] So do you believe him? No. I don't know, how about on this side. Do you guys believe him? No. I mean, do you guys believe him? No. Is there anyone in this building who believes him? [ SOUND ] Listo, listo, because what listo means in Spanish is this. It means prepared. It means battle tested. It means rock solid, up for anything, never backing down, and friends, Hillary Clinton, she's lista. Hillary Clinton is lista. Bill built a bridge into the 21st century and Barack gave us hope and now Hillary is ready. She's ready to fight. She's ready to win and she is ready to lead. God bless all of you. On to victory and thank you Philadelphia. 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