Reid recently gave voice to those concerns and said he would not want Clinton to pick a vice presidential nominee from a state with a Republican governor — such as Massachusetts.
But subsequently Reid commissioned a review by Washington election law attorney Marc Elias (who is also the general counsel to the Clinton campaign, and has advised Warren on legal matters in the past). The review only focused on Massachusetts, and Reid did not conduct such a follow-up review on any other state, according to the person source close to Reid.
One key area Reid and his advisers are examining is how long Baker would have to fill Warren’s seat with a temporary replacement.
In the event of a Senate or House vacancy, Massachusetts currently requires a special election to be held within 145 to 160 days. In the interim, the governor has the authority to appoint a successor. But Reid’s team has identified a portion of the law that allows an office-holder to start the special election clock by filing a resignation letter, but also announcing an intention to vacate the seat at a later date.
In theory, Warren could file such a letter 145 days before the Jan. 20, 2017 inauguration and successfully block Baker from picking any temporary replacement. But that would expose Warren to a potentially awkward position. If Clinton lost the November election, and Warren wanted to keep her Senate seat, she would have to make the politically difficult decision of rescinding her planned resignation — or run for an open seat that she created.
A more likely scenario would be that Warren would start the clock ticking for a special Massachusetts ballot only if Clinton won, with a intent-to-resign letter dated the day after the Nov. 8 national election.