Five women Hillary Clinton could pick for VP

In today’s Boston Globe, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman told reporter Annie Linskey, “there is no question that there will be women” on their list of potential vice presidential candidates.

For most of the campaign, it appeared Clinton would counter the historic nature of her own candidacy with a relatively ordinary political pick for the No. 2. spot, or she could select a Hispanic man, perhaps Julian Castro or Tom Perez, as her running mate.

But taking Clinton’s campaign chairman John Podesta at his word, what women could be on Clinton’s list? The list of Democratic women who have served as a governor or US Senator is not that long. There are just three Democratic women governors. One of them, New Hampshire’s Maggie Hassan, is running for US Senate this year. The other two are serving in their first term.

It is possible that Clinton could pick a business executive who has no background in politics (Sheryl Sandberg?). But that could prompt questions about her running mate’s preparedness and experience -- neutralizing that issue somewhat if she wants to criticize Donald Trump for the same.

All that said, here are the top five women Clinton could choose as her running mate, ranked:

1. Elizabeth Warren: The Massachusetts Senator can uniquely fuse the Sanders wing of the party with the Clinton wing. But as Linskey points out in the Globe, questions remain whether Warren even supports Clinton and if she would accept the offer to be on the ticket.

2. Janet Napolitano: Napolitano not only served as a popular governor of Arizona, but she also has experience as the secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security. She is currently the president of the University of California system. With Trump angering hispanic voters, some have wondered if her home state of Arizona could be in play as a swing state in 2016.

3. Jeanne Shaheen: She is the first female to serve as a governor and US Senator in the nation’s history. She is also close to the Clinton family and is the only politician on this list who comes from a true swing state -- even if New Hampshire only has four electoral votes.

4. Amy Klobuchar: The US senator from Minnesota started out as a legal assistant to another Vice President: Walter Mondale. After serving as county attorney she became the first woman from her state to be elected to the US Senate. If she is not on the ticket, the drumbeat will only get louder to put Klobuchar on the US Supreme Court some day.

5. Patty Murray: The US senator from Washington rose up through the highest level of American politics by starting out at the school board. She is liked among her colleagues and is a good fundraiser. The problem: She is running for re-election this year.

Wildcard picks: Maine Republicans Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins.