The VA and NJ races: a common factor
What if the reason the races were conducted as they were was to simply highlight the Clintons as the winners. They took someone in VA, a person who frankly was not that popular, and who had exemplified many of the worst traits of the status quo, and made him king. Granted, they need to kill the Cooch, because VA is a swing state, which translates to a state that the GOp will try to steal.
However, they spent time putting in Cory Booker. It is obvious that they were not going to avoid NJ. As a former NJ resident, I can tell you that they could have easily stumped for Buono as well as Booker, it's not like NJ is a wide, large state like Florida. But they did not, why.
A) it sends the message that we neeeed Bill and Hillary.
B) it helped keep CC alive. Yes, he will keep the TP boil festering, but he can also be sold as that guy who appeals to this "center", the same exact people Hillary will.
In other words, the left still gets to wait their turn, after Hillary, then whoever she picks, etc. And of course, they will say "if Obama only played VP in 2008, Hillary woulda made him a strong president in 2020."