Dem
51
GOP
49
We don't normally pay too much attention to the Trump Veepstakes because the candidate plays his cards close to the vest, at least on this particular subject. Further, he's so mercurial that the Flavor of the Day today might be in the doghouse tomorrow (See: Noem, Kristi).
That said, we think it is interesting that Gov. Doug Burgum (R-ND) looks to be on the shortlist, and rising rapidly. He's become a major part of the Trump campaign's fundraising efforts, and has also been a frequent presence in the media for the last few weeks, peddling the Trump party line. For example, and consistent with the item above, Burgum appeared on CNN this weekend to complain that "there's vote-buying going on at a scale like we have never seen before." The irony of that coming from a guy whose entire presidential campaign was powered by giving out $20 gift cards is thick.
In the early going, the word was that Trump was leaning toward a woman as his running mate. However, most of the viable woman contenders, excepting perhaps Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), have fallen out of contention. And despite his spending multiple hours on TV each week pandering to Trump, we do not believe for a minute that Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) is a serious candidate. In the end, it always seemed likely that Trump would end up with a white guy, because Trump doesn't so much "pick" people for these roles, he "casts" them. And when Trump thinks "politician," we have absolutely no doubt that what he sees in his mind is a white guy with some gravitas. Plus, if Trump taps Burgum, then the GOP ticket will have a successful businessman on it for the first time since Mitt Romney ran in 2012. (Z)