Liberal group: Dem running mate must support Iran deal

“Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders support the Iran deal, and Martin O’Malley has offered cautious praise. Now it’s time for them to pledge not to pick a running mate who opposes it,” Credo Action, which supports the deal, said in a petition started Tuesday. “Tell Democratic presidential candidates: Pledge not to pick any running-mate who opposes diplomacy with Iran.”

O’Malley also voiced support for the deal earlier this month, telling MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that he believes “this path is the best path forward right now and I hope that Congress approves the deal.”

Murshed Zaheed, the deputy political director for CREDO Action, told The Hill Wednesday that the group’s petition will be updated to reflect O’Malley’s support.

{mosads}The move comes as the Iran nuclear deal is gaining traction in the Senate, though President Obama is still six votes short of the 34 needed to uphold a veto and save the agreement.

Included in the 16 on-the-fence Senate Democrats are Cory Booker (N.J.) and Mark Warner (Va.), who have garnered vice-presidential speculation going into the 2016 election. 

A representative for Warner said the Virginia Democrat remains undecided; meanwhile, Booker said in a statement last week that he wants to “hear all angles on the deal and deeply weigh its short and long-term implications before making a decision.”  

Presidential candidates “can put pressure on powerful Democrats with White House ambitions — both inside and outside of Congress — who remain on the fence about the Iran deal by publicly declaring that any Democrat who opposes diplomacy will be disqualified from being their running mate,” the group added in the petition. 

The group is asking for 10,000 supporters to sign the petition and has already received more than 6,500.

This story was updated on Aug. 26 at 11:51 a.m.