The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

No Clinton VP announcement yet heading into Friday evening

July 22, 2016 at 7:15 p.m. EDT
Sen. Timothy M. Kaine (D-Va.), left, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack are among the top contenders to be Hillary Clinton’s running mate. (zJahi Chikwendiu; Jeffrey MacMillan/The Washington Post; Capital Business/The Washington Post)

Hillary Clinton remained mum about her selection of a running mate Friday, with Sen. Timothy M. Kaine of Virginia, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey all under consideration, according to a Democrat with knowledge of the process.

Clinton’s campaign, which was expected to unveil her pick as early as Friday afternoon in a text message, had not made an announcement by early evening, amid a busy day on the campaign trail and a shooting rampage in Munich that dominated headlines.

Kaine has long been seen as the front-runner by many Democrats with knowledge of the process. But he said early Friday afternoon that he had not been informed of whether he is the pick.

Staff at Clinton’s Brooklyn headquarters gathered for a 3 p.m. meeting Friday, where some expected to hear the name of her running mate. But the vice presidency was not discussed, according to a person familiar with the meeting. Instead, those in attendance were told it would have to wait until an “undisclosed time.”

Once again, Hispanics were considered for VP. Once again, they’re expecting to be passed over.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is reportedly a leading contender for Hillary Clinton’s vice-presidential running mate. Here’s what you need to know about him. (Osman Malik,Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post)

The announcement is all but certain to come before Monday’s opening of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. Some Democrats close to the campaign speculated that events in Munich could be a reason for delaying the news in the short term.

Clinton’s campaign declined to discuss timing. The candidate sent out a signed tweet — meaning she wrote it herself — saying, “Monitoring the horrific situation in Munich. We stand with our friends in Germany as they work to bring those responsible to justice. -H”

The former secretary of state made several stops in Florida on Friday, including a private meeting here with the families and friends of victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting more than a month after a gunman killed 49 people there.

The gathering came just ahead of a roundtable community meeting with city leaders, LGBT activists and religious leaders. Clinton also appeared at a late-afternoon rally in Tampa.

On Saturday, she is expected to appear at another rally at Florida International University in Miami. For now, her public schedule is clear after that until Monday appearances in Charlotte.

Obama spokesman volunteers Kaine as VP possibility

Kaine attended two events in Northern Virginia on Thursday and was attending fundraisers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island on Friday. He is also scheduled to be in Massachusetts on Saturday for another fundraiser.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) is on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s short list of potential vice-presidential candidates. Here’s what you need to know about him. (Sarah Parnass,Osman Malik/The Washington Post)

During the first event, in Boston, Kaine told the crowd, “I can look you honestly in the eye and say I don’t know” about Clinton’s pick, according to someone in attendance quoted by the Boston Globe.

Vilsack has been on a two-day swing through Missouri to discuss the opioid epidemic. He was expected to return to Washington about 5 p.m. Friday.

Booker, a freshman senator and former mayor of Newark, has drawn relatively little attention throughout Clinton’s selection process but remains a serious prospect. He was among the roughly half-dozen potential running mates who met with Clinton at her home in Washington last week.

During an appearance on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” on Thursday, another potential pick — Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts — suggested she was out of the running, telling Colbert: “I think I would know by now if it were me.”

During her visit in Orlando, Clinton said she had come to “listen to what your experiences have been.”

She noted that the attack on the gay club highlights the dangers that LGBT people in America face, including higher risk for hate crimes.

“We need to acknowledge and be very clear who this attack targeted,” Clinton said. “The Latino LGBT community, by any measure, was the community that was the most severely impacted by this terrible attack.”

“It is still dangerous to be LGBT in America,” Clinton added. “It is an unfortunate fact, but one that needs to be said.”

The meeting came on a day when much of the political world is returning from the Republican National Convention and speculation is swirling about whom Clinton will choose as her vice president.

But at the meeting, the mood was somber. Clinton entered from a side door to a virtually silent room.

Some members of the community — still reeling from the tragedy — offered thanks for her decision to wait until several weeks had passed before traveling to the city.

“Thank you for not politicizing it and for waiting until we were ready,” said Patty Sheehan, an Orlando city commissioner.

Sheehan said she considers the LGBT community in Orlando to be like her children.

“It felt like they came into our living room and shot them,” Sheehan said.

But she cautioned against blaming the Muslim community for the attack because the gunman, a Muslim who was the son of an Afghan immigrant, had apparently been self-radicalized, and according to law enforcement officials, had pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.

The atmosphere was far different at a late-afternoon rally in Tampa, where Clinton took aim at GOP nominee Donald Trump, calling his acceptance speech at his party’s convention “dark and divisive.”

“He offered a lot of fear and anger and resentment, but no solutions about anything that he even talked about,” Clinton said.

She said the focus by him and other speakers on her was “kind of perversely flattering.”

“It’s kind of hard to believe they spent so much time talking about me and no time talking about jobs or education or health care,” Clinton said.

Wagner reported from Richmond. Gearan reported from Washington.