KAILUA-KONA — All is quiet on the vice presidential front, at least as far as Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard is concerned.
While the congresswoman “felt the Bern,” and broke party ranks by resigning as vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee in February in order to back Bernie Sanders’ run for president, Sanders’ camp has been quiet as far whether Gabbard would join the Vermont senator as his running mate, should he win the nomination.
Gabbard’s camp, meanwhile, said those talks haven’t taken place.
“There have been no discussions (on the topic),” Erica Tsuji, a spokeswoman for Gabbard, told West Hawaii Today this week.
As far as Sanders camp, it was the one question they didn’t answer in an email exchange with WHT.
Rania Batrice, a spokesperson for the Sanders campaign, did not respond to questions about a potential vice-presidential candidacy for Gabbard, but did speak to the congresswoman’s effectiveness and importance as a Sanders supporter.
“Rep. Gabbard has been an enormous asset to the campaign and has been on the road for us when her voting schedule permits,” Batrice wrote in an email.
Gabbard’s national profile has risen ever since she stepped away from the DNC and began stumping for Sanders.
Gabbard announced her intentions on “Meet the Press,” stating that she supported Sanders because of the thoughtfulness of his positions regarding American military policy in the Middle East and elsewhere.
The two-term Congresswoman’s rising profile in the Democratic Party coupled with her staunch public support of the Sanders campaign has led to a national undercurrent of speculation as to whether she is the front-runner to nab a spot on the ticket as vice president — assuming Sanders can rally and win the party’s nomination.
Gabbard has most recently campaigned for Sanders in Pennsylvania and New York, where the senator lost Tuesday’s primary to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by a margin of 58 percent to 42 percent.
Batrice said Gabbard’s efforts have included introducing Sanders at political rallies, hosting national conference calls and headlining rallies with veterans. Gabbard, who is still a Major in the Army National Guard, is a veteran herself having been deployed twice to the Middle East.
The plan was for Gabbard to continue her campaigning efforts in Maryland this week if her schedule allowed, Batrice said. A Facebook post on “Maryland for Bernie Sanders” page Thursday encouraged supporters to join Gabbard and students at Towson University in Towson, Maryland, in a march to an early voting site on campus.
Future stops in other states are planned, though there were no appearance dates or locations set in stone as of Tuesday.
The congresswoman’s obligation to her constituency has been the only hindrance to her campaigning efforts on Sanders’ behalf, her office said.
“She never misses votes,” Tsuji said.
Last August, the congresswoman made headlines across Hawaii after she was asked by a reporter from The Garden Island newspaper on Kauai during a chamber of commerce luncheon if she would consider serving as vice president if approached.
“I would,” Gabbard responded to the reporter’s question, “because the question that I’ve always asked myself is, where can I be in a position to make the most positive impact? That’s what motivated me to run for office at 21.”
Gabbard — who turned 35 this month, the minimum age required under the Constitution to serve as president — followed up her position the following day, saying she had never independently thought about running and was only responding to a hypothetical question.