FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2008
Contact: Sam Arora at media@voteboth.com
SENS. FEINSTEIN, CARPER CALL FOR “DREAM TICKET”
WASHINGTON, DC--Two prominent U.S. Senators called for their colleagues, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, to unite and run together once a nominee has been chosen.
In today’s New York Post, Senators Dianne Feinstein (CA) and Tom Carper (DE) endorsed the “dream ticket” as the strongest path to a Democratic White House. Carper added that he intends to encourage Obama personally to take Clinton as his running mate should the Illinois senator be the nominee.
“I am one that believes that if it works out that Senator Obama is the nominee, the strongest ticket would be Senator Clinton as vice president. No question in my mind,” said Feinstein. “Because the constituencies in the votes are different.” “The weight of the states he carried versus the states she carried. It's different. And, therefore, if you combine them both, you've got the best electoral path.”
“I'll encourage [Obama] to ask, and if he does, for her to say yes,” Carper said. “She would be a good president if something ever were to happen to him. She'll deliver a heck of a lot of women in a lot of states.”
“This is huge,” said veteran presidential campaign strategist Jerry Crawford, who also has endorsed the dream ticket. “We’ve got senators from the biggest states and the smallest saying, ‘We want to vote both.’ It shows the wide support among Democrats for a ticket with both Obama and Clinton.”
Feinstein represents California, which boats the greatest number of electoral votes (55), while Carper’s state of Delaware is among those with the fewest (3).
Feinstein, an early backer of Clinton’s candidacy, chairs the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, where she oversees ethics, campaign and election reform. Carper hails from the swing state of Delaware, from which he served as a congressman and governor before winning election the Senate in 2000. He is a vice chair of the moderate Democratic Leadership Council, whose chair, Harold Ford, Jr., has also endorsed the idea of the dream ticket.
Sens. Feinstein and Carper join the growing ranks of prominent Democrats supporting a unity ticket with both Obama and Clinton. Representatives David Scott (GA) and Stephanie Tubbs Jones (OH), both outspoken advocates for Obama and Clinton, respectively, argued Monday that a unity ticket was essential for victory in November. Other unity ticket backers include Governor Ed Rendell (PA), former Governor Mario M. Cuomo (NY), Senator Charles E. Schumer (NY), and DLC chairman and former Congressman Harold Ford, Jr. (TN).
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