A potential running mate for Hillary Clinton couldn't sell a supporter of rival Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) to switch sides Wednesday.
After making a pitch to Jasmine Calvillo, a young cashier while live on MSNBC, Rep. Xavier Becerra (D., Calif.) was unsuccessful. Becerra is seen as one the shortlist to be Clinton's running mate in 2016.
All the while, reporter Jacob Soboroff and a camera crew were there for the exchange. The woman told him and Becerra she was supporting Sanders, and Soboroff encouraged him to make his pitch.
"You have to," Calvillo said to Becerra. "You have to because I'm set on Bernie."
"Bernie's got some great ideas," he started. "But, up until two months ago, you probably hadn't heard much about Bernie Sanders. Hillary Clinton has been with us for a long time. When you want a president, you want someone who you know will stay with you.’
When Calvillo revealed she was born in 1995, Soboroff asked if maybe this youth was part of the problem.
"It's not so much a problem," Becerra said. "It's a reality. For you, that wasn't a reality for you. But, we went through some tough times in the nineties."
Soboroff then asked Calvillo what it was about Sanders that made her so passionately support him.
"Well, when I hear Bernie speaking, the first time I heard him speak, he really inspired a lot of motivation, energy," she said. "His ideas are really good, especially for young people. Just with Hillary, I just feel that some of the things she's done in the past, some of the things she's said, didn't really resonate with me particularly. I know it might have resonated with you but for who's looking out for me, I really feel it's Bernie Sanders."
Soboroff's analysis of this interaction summarized a fundamental problem the Clinton campaign is facing, which is finding a way to reach out to millennial voters. Since she is most likely going to be the Democratic nominee, the Clinton camp will need to find a way to bring in these voters from Sanders.
"So Jose, Congressman Becerra could not sway Jasmine over to Secretary Clinton's side and therein lies something the Clinton campaign probably is looking closely at when they ultimately do tap their VP," he said. "If it's someone more progressive like an Elizabeth Warren or even a Bernie Sanders who's going to bring in those young voters or somebody like Congressman Becerra, who is decidedly more a member of the establishment."