Remember when, nearly a year ago, a longtime Democratic fundraiser floated Martin Heinrich’s name as a possible vice president pick for Hillary Clinton?
Well, it may have been more than just idle speculation.
A hacked email released by Wikileaks showed Heinrich’s name (misspelled as Heinreich) on a list of potential vice presidential picks back in March.
The email received attention, not just for being a list of potential vice presidential candidates, but for Clinton campaign chair John Podesta putting them into “rough food groups.” These “food groups” sorted some by race or gender, their status in the military and, in a group by himself, Bernie Sanders.
Another name in Heinrich’s “food group” (which Mediaite called “generic white guys”) was Tim Kaine, the U.S. Senator from Virginia who is now Clinton’s running mate.
Heinrich’s office said they were not aware of any vetting process to be Clinton’s running mate.
Podesta said he put the list together for vetting of the potential candidates.
In another email, Kristina Costa, the policy adviser for Clinton’s campaign, used Heinrich’s name as an example of a surrogate for Clinton’s “collaborative stewardship” plan on conservation.
Nearly all of the references to Heinrich or his colleague in the U.S. Senate Tom Udall came as part of clippings sent to Podesta’s email.
