Can Wikipedia page edits provide clues to who Hillary Clinton will choose as her running mate? 'On Point' radio producer Nick Andersen tweeted this morning about his investigation into the pages of figures rumored to be on Clinton's shortlist. Based off the number of recent edits that Virginia Senator Tim Kaine's page received, Anderson thinks he's the likely choice.
hey everybody
why don't we check the wiki edits for the people we think are gonna be clinton's vp
that usually works
— Nick Andersen (@nicktheandersen) July 22, 2016
Senator Tim Kaine's page has received significantly more edits than others -- about one hundred edits just on Friday, and counting. Tom Vilsack, the other VP possibility that The Washington Post reported to be on the two-person shortlist, has by comparison only had about 20 edits in the past couple days. Furthermore, other possible VP picks like Cory Booker, Thomas Perez, Elizabeth Warren, and Julian Castro might as well be nobodies.
for example here are tim kaine's recent edits (v long, mostly today) pic.twitter.com/HpfOAgYPIL
— Nick Andersen (@nicktheandersen) July 22, 2016
The rationale here is that the changes to Kaine's page may reflect Democratic PR forces trying to shape the senator's image, before unprecedented levels of national attention and scrutiny. On the other hand, the increased frequency of edits could in part be a result of Wikipedia contributors everywhere just getting caught up in the buzz.
Kaine was elected to the Senate by Virginia voters in 2012, previously serving as governor of the Commonwealth. Kaine is relatively moderate, anti-abortion, and speaks fluent Spanish, something that may appeal to Hispanic voters. He was considered a possible running mate for Obama during the 2008 election, and furthermore, Virginia is a swing state, something the Clinton campaign is weighing heavily.
This isn't the first time that website updates have preempted a big announcement. Combing Wikipedia for presidential forecast bares resemblance to that time the hidden code of Lebron James' website hinted at his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, before the initial announcement was made.
