Poll: Sanders, Rubio most popular VP picks

Bernie Sanders would give Hillary Clinton the biggest bump as her vice presidential pick, and Marco Rubio would do the same for Donald Trump, according to a new poll.

{mosads}A Monmouth University survey released Thursday tested six potential running mates from both major parties to see who would attract more people to a ticket and who would repel the most undecided voters.

On the Democratic side, Sanders is the only candidate who would bring more voters into the fold. 

Thirty-nine percent of voters nationwide said they would be more likely to vote for the Democratic ticket if Clinton tapped Sanders as her running mate, compared with 20 percent who said they would be less likely to support Democrats with him onboard.

Those figures are even higher among undecided and independent voters considering supporting a third-party candidate. Fifty percent of that subset said having Sanders as the vice presidential nominee would make them more likely to support Clinton, and 16 percent said it would not.

Clinton, however, is not expected to pick Sanders as her running mate. The Vermont senator is technically still running against her in the Democratic primary.

Even if Sanders were on her shortlist, he has signaled that he doesn’t believe becoming vice president is the best use of the political capital he’s earned through the primary process.

The rest of the Democrats tested had very little impact.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a progressive firebrand and reported finalist for the ticket, would have only a slightly positive effect, with 24 percent of voters nationwide saying they’d be more likely to support Clinton and 21 saying they would be less likely. Those figures are about the same for Warren among undecided and independent voters.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) split those surveyed evenly, with 13 percent each saying he made them more or less likely to vote for Clinton. Just nine percent said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) made them more enthusiastic about the ticket, with 13 percent less excited. And Housing Secretary Julian Castro made 10 percent more likely to support Clinton and 17 percent less likely.

Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) would be the biggest drag on the ticket, with only 12 percent saying they’d be more likely to support Democrats and 21 percent saying less likely.

On the Republican side, only Rubio registered a net positive, with 27 percent saying they’d be more likely to vote for Trump and 20 percent saying they’d be less likely to vote for him. Those figures are about the same for independents and undecided voters.

But Rubio may not want the position.

“The prospect of a Trump presidency is … worrisome to me,” he said Wednesday while announcing he would seek reelection to the Senate. “It is no secret that I have significant disagreements with Donald Trump.”

The rest of the Republicans tested in the poll are a net negative for the ticket: Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) posted 9 percent more likely and 17 percent less; Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) had 7 percent more and 15 percent less; and former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) received 24 percent more and 26 percent less.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) would be major drags on the ticket for Trump.

Twenty percent of all voters said they’d be more likely to vote Republican with Christie on the ticket, compare with 28 percent who said less likely. But among uncommitted voters, those figures move to 15 percent more likely and 36 percent less likely.

Palin would by far be the worst pick for Trump, according to the poll. 

Among voters nationwide, only 13 percent said they’d be more likely to support Trump with Palin as his running mate. Forty-two percent said they’d be less likely to support him.

Among undecided or independent voters, those who said they’d be more likely to support Trump drops to 7 percent with Palin, and the number of those saying they would be less likely to support him balloons to 54 percent.

The Monmouth University survey of 803 registered voters was conducted June 15–19 and has a 3.5 percentage point margin of error.