Most likely running mates for Hilary and Rubio?

[justfollowingtheelections]

I'm asking about these two because they're leading in the most recent poll.  To be honest I'm not sure Rubio can win the nomination, but stranger things have happened.

For Hilary I would say the ideal running mate would be someone younger and/or a minority.  She really has no reason to pick an old white guy like Obama did and the country will be a lot different in 2016 than it was in 2008.  At the same time she would have to avoid picking a lightweight, which was the mistake John McCain did.  This would certainly eliminate some popular congressmen or mayors.  With all that in mind I would say that Deval Patrick would be a good running mate for her.  He's not that young (he will be 60 in '16), but he's not geriatric either, and he has been tested as the governor of Massachusetts.  I think he would actually be a very strong candidate to win the nomination if Hilary for whatever reason doesn't run or her popularity wanes.  She might also need to GOTBV which has proven to be very important in some swing states (I think one could make a case based on statistical evidence that the main factor in Obama's victory was increased voter turnout in African-American communities in places such as Florida or Virginia).

Now if Hilary is really confident and her polling numbers high she might even pick a woman as her running mate, someone such as Elizabeth Warren for example.

Regarding Rubio, I have no clue who would be a good running mate.  Normally a candidate like him would go with someone experienced who can balance the ticket.  Then again, if that is the case he might be in danger of being overshadowed by his own running mate.  And there is also the issue of the Republicans being the party where 98% of the delegates at their national convention were white.  Rubio would bring some diversity to the ticket with his ethnic background, but he's still a white guy and adding another white guy to the ticket as his running mate might not look good.  On the other hand picking a minority or a woman might be too much for the party base who might become vocal about the party betraying traditional WASP America.
A lot will depend on how good his chances are of course, because if it looks like the Democrat is the clear favorite many prominent Republicans might wait until 2020.  I honestly have a hard time seeing the Republicans picking Rubio as their nominee, and I think they will go with an establishment candidate and then go with a female minority as the VP candidate and pretend their party is diverse.
But I would love to hear what you think!

[justfollowingtheelections]

In Rubio's case it would likely be someone of an elder statesman quality to balance out the lack of experience perception.

For Hillary, Yes it may be too soon for Castro but then again look at Obama's rise to fame. The Clinton's tend to keep a "list" of people who have wronged or pissed them off in the past. I doubt she would select someone who chose to endorse Obama over her early on in the 08 primaries. Unless she really truly thought she needed them to win. With that said I think she goes with someone quite a bit younger and energetic without overlooking the too wet behind the ears qualities.

This.

The Clintons are loyalists, and she would more than likely select someone who endorsed her over Obama in 2008. I don't think she would go with a Latino, seeing as how she was (and is) extremely popular with them in 2008 (I think she won them by a 2-to-1 margin over Obama). I say she would probably have to choose an African American because I'm sure several in the African American community will remember her as the one who dared to challenge the first African American candidate (how dare she do something like that!). Having said that, there weren't many prominent elected African Americans who supported her in 2008; the only ones I can think of (who still hold offices) are Maxine Waters, Emanuel Cleaver, Ron Dellums (Mayor of Oakland), Michael Nutter (Mayor of Philadelphia), Charlie Rangel (and I believe all of New York's black delegation - Gregory Meeks, Yvette Clarke and Edolphus Towns were for her as well), and Sheila Jackson Lee. I don't see any of these as VP material, though I do agree that she would more than likely choose one of her first candidacy's endorsers.

Cleaver probably gave the best speech at the DNC this year, and he was elected in a majority-white district in a swing state (I don't know if the district was always majority-white but it was this time).  The problem is that he's as old as Hilary, but he would be a good addition to her cabinet.