Jack Hatch begins interviewing prospective running mates

DES MOINES - Likely Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jack Hatch said Monday he has a short list of possible running mates that he is processing and plans to make his choice for lieutenant governor known before Democrats hold their state convention on June 21.

'We have reached out to half a dozen people, and there may be some more, to see if they're interested,” said Hatch, a state senator from Des Moines who is running unopposed for governor in the June 3 Democratic primary election.

'We hope to announce the lieutenant governor before the state convention to give the delegates a chance to assess my choice,” he told reporters at a Statehouse briefing. 'We're looking for someone who has demonstrated experience that could take over as governor if anything should happen to me at any time.”

Hatch said the list includes people from all over Iowa and he expects the ticket will reflect some regional balance. Iowa has had a string of female lieutenant governors and, while he plans to give women a prominent role in his administration if elected, Hatch said he wants the strongest candidate who would bring the same kind of values and complimentary skills regardless of gender.

The Des Moines senator said he feels embarrassed that Iowa has yet to elect a woman as governor as a member of either the U.S. House or U.S. Senate but added that he would not balance the party's 2014 gubernatorial ticket with a woman 'just as a default position.”

Hatch said he has consulted with former Democratic Iowa Govs. Tom Vilsack and Chet Culver about their experiences in selecting their running mates, but not to get their advice on whom he should choose. Vilsack's choice for running mate was Sally Pederson while Culver selected Patty Judge, a former state senator and Iowa agriculture secretary.

Hatch said he is interested in balancing the Democratic ticket with someone who has experience in both the private and public sectors to face off in the expected general election matchup with Republican Gov. Terry Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds.

'Fortunately for Democrats, there are half a dozen people that I would be very happy with,” Hatch told reporters. 'Anyone of them would be very good for me and for the party and for the state. We have a big, big kind of net to cast and we're going to be cautious about doing that.”

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