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Tim Cook, Tammy Baldwin on Democratic VP List Shared by WikiLeaks

Tammy Baldwin

Hillary Clinton may have considered a gay or lesbian running mate, if the hacked email is credible.

trudestress

Hillary Clinton considered having an openly gay running mate -- Tim Cook or Tammy Baldwin -- if a hacked email posted by WikiLeaks is to be believed.

The gay Apple CEO and the lesbian U.S. senator from Wisconsin both appeared on a list of 39 vice-presidential possibilities in an email reportedly sent to Clinton in March by John Podesta, the chair of her presidential campaign, according to NBC News and other media major outlets. The Clinton campaign has not confirmed if the email, published by WikiLeaks, is authentic.

Picking either Cook or Baldwin would have made this year's Democratic presidential ticket, the first major-party one headed by a woman, even more groundbreaking than it is, as neither the Democrats nor the Republicans have ever named an out LGBT person to the ticket. Spokespeople for Cook and Baldwin declined to comment regarding their presence on the list.

Podesta's email described the list as a "first cut of people to consider for VP," NBC reports. The network adds, "It's unlikely Clinton seriously considered all of these names, as campaigns often begin with a lengthy list of both conventional and unconventional options that then gets whittled down."

The list includes U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who Clinton eventually chose as her running mate, plus a variety of other elected officials and business leaders. Among the elected officials are several other senators, such as Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who challenged Clinton for the Democratic nomination. There are also mayors, including Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles, and governors, like longtime Clinton ally Terry McAuliffe of Virginia. Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Michael Mullen made the list as well.

Business types include Microsoft's Bill Gates and his wife, Melinda, who cochairs their foundation; Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz; Xerox's Ursula Burns, the first black woman CEO of a Fortune 500 company; and Coca-Coca CEO Muhtar Kent, who would bring is own brand of diversity to the ticket, as he was brought up in the Muslim faith, although he is currently nonpracticing. And there's one who's made his mark in both business and politics, media mogul and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The email is one of many believed to have been hacked by Russian agents, who then provided them to WikiLeaks. See the full list of veep possibilities here.

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.