'Put a stake in its heart, Joe': Ex-Republican advises Biden on how to leave GOP 'dead at the national level'

Economist Bruce Bartlett, a former Republican who worked in the Reagan administration, thinks former Vice President Joe Biden has the opportunity to deliver an absolutely crippling blow to his former party this fall.

Writing on Twitter, Bartlett makes the case that Biden should consider picking a Hispanic vice-presidential nominee who hails from Texas, which he believes could potentially turn the Lone Star State blue for the first time in decades.

"With Biden's all-but-assured nomination, attention will now turn to his VP pick," Bartlett writes. "I continue to believe that a Hispanic from Texas would be optimum. I think Texas is winnable and if it goes blue, the GOP is dead at the presidential level. Put a stake in its heart, Joe."

Bartlett also believes that former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton made a "serious mistake" when she tapped Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) to be her running mate, as he brought little excitement to the ticket and was from a state that she would have likely carried regardless of whom she chose.