Here's Who Could Be Our Next Vice President

The next Veep may not be as lovable as Joe Biden, as devious as Dick Cheney, or as funny as Selina Meyer... but he or she will have a big role for the next four years — and an even bigger role these next months leading up to the November showdown stumping on the campaign trail. So who's going to be our next vice president? Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have been weighing the odds of their choices since clinching their respective nominations — if not before.

Their moment has arrived to decide. Odds are that their choices will be announced before each party's national conventions. The Republicans gather in Cleveland in just two weeks. The Democrats the following week in Philadelphia. So there's not much time left to vet; decisions are imminent. So for those of you placing bets, stay tuned because there's a shortlist for each candidate. Would Trump benefit from choosing a woman? Is the opposite true for Clinton? What about a minority candidate to rebuild the Obama coalition — or for Trump to deflect accusations of xenophobia and racism?

The shortlist for Trump includes Chris Christie, Newt Gingrich, and Mike Pence. Christie is the famous New Jersey governor who dropped out of the GOP race and nearly immediately threw his support behind Trump. He's also a winner in lots of ways, like messing with commuters by closing a bridge to punish his political opponents. But Trump likes to get even too, so that could be perfect. Gingrich speaks for himself, and Pence is nearly unknown. He's the governor of Indiana, in case you were wondering.

Then there's Hillary's Dems. It doesn't sound like Bernie Sanders is among the contenders, but her top three are strong nonetheless. Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia would be the safe bet. He checks the boxes of straight, white, male, and decades of experience. The two more exciting candidates are HUD Secretary Julian Castro and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Both could excite different subsets of the Democratic base.

Castro would be the first Hispanic candidate on a presidential ticket. Warren would be one of the first two women — Clinton obviously being the other. Either choice would be great, but Warren's ability to meet Trump's ridiculous attacks tweet for tweet. Within the next week or so, you'll know both the Democratic and Republican VP nominees. Then it's up to you come November to decide which one moves into Number One Observatory Circle. Vote wisely.