Warren on her choice to replace Mike Pence: ‘I already have a dog’

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told a voter that she “already has a dog” when the 2020 White House hopeful was asked about her choice to replace Vice President Pence. 

The voter asked Warren at a town hall in Lebanon, N.H., on Sunday if she ever whispers to her dog Bailey, “Who is going to be my Mike Pence?”

“I already have a dog,” Warren responded. 

The crowd cheered in response to the senator’s deadpan joke. 

Warren went on to describe her ideal type of running mate, and Cabinet members, without naming any potential picks. 

“I want people who are there because they believe in public service. I want people who are gonna be good partners in this fight. I want people who are willing to pick up the tools that are already there and to use them on behalf of the public,” she said. “It’s so easy to get discouraged and to say [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell [R-Ky.] just ruins everything. There’s a lot of truth in that, too, but it isn’t everything. There is a lot we can still do.” 

Warren also said her ideal vice president is someone “who is going to be in the fight” with her.  

“I want smart people. … I want people who have ideas. I want people who have worked in the fields,” she added. “I want people who believe that they can be part of putting government on the side of our citizens instead of on the sides of giant corporations.” 

Q: Do you whisper into Bailey’s ear, “Who is gonna be my Mike Pence? Who is gonna look at me with adoring eyes?”@ewarren: I already have a dog. #WinWithWarren #Warren2020 pic.twitter.com/XwU23uUqEl

— California for Warren (@CA_for_Warren) February 10, 2020

Warren’s town hall in Lebanon is one of many campaign events she and her opponents are holding in New Hampshire ahead of Tuesday’s first-in-the-nation primary. 

Warren trailed former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in last week’s chaotic Iowa caucuses, but she came in third, ahead of former Vice President Joe Biden, who had been regarded as the front-runner in the 2020 race.