Ohio union officials: Hillary Clinton pick Richard Cordray for VP

Union officials from Ohio are urging presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton to consider former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray as a possible vice presidential running mate.

Cordray, 57, currently is director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Washington, an agency created at the suggestion of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

Although labor leaders in Ohio like Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, as a possible vice presidential candidate, they point out if Clinton wins the presidency, Gov. John Kasich would name a Republican to replace Brown in the Senate.

“Richard Cordray brings balance to that ticket in a lot of different ways,” said Dennis Duffey, secretary treasurer of the Ohio State Building and Construction Trades Council in Columbus. “He has won statewide election twice. Ohio is very important to” Clinton.

“It makes sense to a lot of us,” Duffey said. “It’s not that we don’t think Sherrod Brown is a great choice. But with Sherrod Brown, we would lose a Democratic Senate seat.”

Warren also is considered a possible running mate but because Massachusetts has a Republican governor, Democrats would lose the Senate seat if Clinton wins.

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