#United States 🇺🇸 | ​Presidential Running Mates

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How Presidential Running Mates Can Make or Break a Campaign! Four Times Candidates’ Second-in-Command Picks Surprised Everyone

— September 18, 2024 | American Experience

Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin on the big screen at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, September 3, 2008. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, Library of Congress.

Every four years, the news media engage in endless speculation about the identities of presidential candidates’ running mates. The process is so enshrined, in fact, that it even has a name: Veepstakes.

Often the choice is predictable. Sometimes, though, there are VP shockers—running mate picks that no one, even the most astute political analysts, saw coming. Those surprise picks can be a huge boon to a campaign, building notoriety and momentum—or they can backfire, sending a candidate’s run into a tailspin. Here are a few of modern history’s most dramatic Veepstakes outcomes.

Sarah Palin (Sarah Louise Palin)

John McCain and Sarah Palin at the Republican National Convention, September 4, 2008. Photo credit Tom LeGro, PBS NewsHour.

John McCain was behind in the polls against fellow Senator Barack Obama in 2008 when he made his surprising VP pick: small town mayor-turned-Alaska governor Sarah Palin, a choice no one predicted.

At first, public perception suggested McCain had made a bold choice with a political outsider whose gender, youth, and more conservative ideology helped balance the Republican ticket. McCain’s campaign raised record amounts and his poll numbers skyrocketed. However, it wasn’t long before Palin’s inexperience and lack of preparation came through in interviews and debates.

As the election season progressed, public opinion of Palin turned increasingly negative, and later analysis showed that she potentially cost the McCain campaign millions of votes—a significant margin in a close race like 2008.

Thomas Eagleton (Thomas Francis Eagleton)

An official portrait of Thomas Eagleton as Missouri’s Lieutenant Governor, 1967. Photo courtesy of Missouri State Archives.

In July 1972, Democratic candidate George McGovern announced his running mate: Missouri Senator Thomas Eagleton, a rising young political star whose anti-abortion views balanced McGovern’s ticket—or so the campaign hoped. Only 18 days later, things looked very different.

Right after the Democratic National Convention ended, news emerged about Eagleton’s medical history: three times during the 1960s he had been hospitalized for depression, and received electroshock treatment. McGovern stood by his choice at first, but political pressure mounted.

Ultimately, McGovern replaced Eagleton with former Peace Corps director Sargeant Shriver. (The only other time in American history that a VP candidate had been removed from the ticket was in 1912, when President William Howard Taft replaced acting vice president James Sherman—and only because Sherman had died six days before the election. Spoiler: that presidential bid lost.)

McGovern’s campaign also never recovered from the last-minute switch, ultimately losing the election by the largest landslide in U.S. history. The scandal also forever changed the way potential VPs were vetted going forward, typically leading campaigns to do far more comprehensive research.

Spiro Agnew (Spiro Theodore Agnew)

Vice President Spiro Agnew and President Richard Nixon at the Republican National Convention, August 23, 1972. Photo courtesy National Archives and Records Administration.

In August 1968, presidential hopeful Richard Nixon made a 1 a.m. announcement about his vice presidential choice. Spiro Agnew was an unknown on no one’s list, a former county elected official in Maryland who had only been governor for two years.

At first, Agnew’s name became a campaign punchline. But Nixon’s choice proved smart. Positioned together on the Republican ticket as law-and-order candidates, Nixon and Agnew won the popular vote by a small margin but took the electoral college by 110 votes.

Once in office, Agnew did such a good job of reinforcing the president’s rhetoric that he became known as “Nixon’s Nixon.” But ultimately, the copycat routine went too far: just before the Watergate scandal ended Nixon’s presidency, Agnew himself stepped down to avoid his own separate charges of bribery, extortion, and tax fraud, becoming only the second U.S. vice president in history to resign.

Al Gore (Albert Arnold Gore Jr.)

President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore disembark from Air Force One, October 20, 1995. Photo by Sharon Farmer, National Archives and Records Administration.

Conventional wisdom says presidential candidates should balance the ticket by choosing VPs who compliment them around various demographics, like age, identity, geography, and ideology. But in 1992, Bill Clinton threw decades of political strategy out the window and chose a running mate who was practically his mirror image.

Senator Al Gore was almost the exact same age as Clinton, also southern, and a centrist Democrat. In fact, Gore was so similar to the presidential candidate that Republicans dubbed him “Clinton’s tax-and-spend brother.” Gore was reportedly selected from a list of 40 potential candidates, with Clinton’s key considerations being that his running mate share his values, be prepared to serve as president immediately, and have the stamina required for a long, hard campaign.

It paid off. Together Clinton and Gore’s youthful energy carried the first all-baby-boomer presidential ticket to a big electoral college win, proving that sometimes doubling down is a savvy strategy.

President Richard Nixon meeting with Rep. Gerald Ford in the Oval Office the day before announcing Ford as his pick for Vice President in 1973. Credit: The Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. National Archives and Records Administration

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Trump Speaks With Humility to Supporters at HQ After Victory on Election Night

With the occasional chants of "U.S.A, U.S.A." and "I love you" from the crowd, former president, Donald Trump spoke to supporters at his campaign's West Palm Beach, Florida, headquarters after Decision Desk HQ projected that he would claim the presidency once again.

BREAKING: Donald Trump Projected to Win Presidency

The room was filled with friends and supporters like Las Vegas casino developer Steve Wynn, surrogate and former GOP presidential candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Brick Suit. But Trump said he also had "thousands of friends in this incredible movement" known as MAGA.

At times, Trump appeared humbled by what now appears to be a massive electoral victory:

Donald Trump: Look what happened! Is this crazy?! pic.twitter.com/JuHCqDYLac— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 6, 2024

He also thanked his wife Melania, whom he said "currently has the number-one book in the country. Can you believe it?" Then he thanked the members of his family, many of whom thronged around him on stage, alongside campaign staffers:

President Trump thanks his family during remarks after becoming President-Elect of the United States pic.twitter.com/kxlll9IatC— RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) November 6, 2024

He promised to be the president for every American, "with every breath in my body," while promising to deliver on the commitments he has made to strengthen and protect the nation, and revive the U.S, economy:

Donald Trump: This will truly be the golden age of America. pic.twitter.com/1Bsto2Ao8Z— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 6, 2024

Trump announced to the crowd that the Trump-Vance campaign had indeed won the popular vote:

Donald Trump: We won the popular vote. pic.twitter.com/qMwSHYvShm— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 6, 2024

The 47th president-elect then congratulated running mate Senator JD Vance (R-OH), who will now become the vice president-elect, along with thanking Vance's wife, Usha. Trump marveled at the fact that Vance seems to "look forward" to appearing on legacy media outlets:

Donald Trump on JD Vance: He's a feisty guy! I told him to go into enemy media territory and he just obliterates them. pic.twitter.com/DTR73fI1WC— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 6, 2024

Vance spoke briefly, thanking Trump:

Vice President-Elect J.D. Vance takes the stage in West Palm Beach, FL pic.twitter.com/juuJVig1S4— RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) November 6, 2024

Later, Trump pointed out another big supporter on stage, Dana White, the founder of the UFC, and invited him to say a few words. White closed by saying, "This is karma, ladies and gentlemen. He deserves this." He then thanked "the mighty Joe Rogan" and the president-elect's supporters:

Dana White: Nobody deserves this more than Donald Trump and his family. This is what happens when the machine comes after you. You couldn't stop him. He's the most resilient man I've ever met. pic.twitter.com/zVQldfix2I— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 6, 2024

Trump also spoke about the Butler, PA, assassination attempt, and its possible bearing on the election:

Donald Trump: Many people have told me that God spared my life for a reason. That reason was to save our country and to restore American to greatness. Now we're going to fulfill that mission together. pic.twitter.com/PP4wlmBqhm— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 6, 2024

Read related: WATCH: Someone's Already Made a New 'Downfall' Parody About Dems Losing It Over Kamala's Odds in Election

Republicans also won control of the U.S. Senate on Tuesday, with the possible pick-up of five seats in the Upper Chamber. The makeup of the House of Representatives is still up in the air, but the signs are hopeful for the GOP:

— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) November 6, 2024

According to Fox News, Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democrat nominee, has not yet called Trump to concede the election.

The speech to supporters provided quite a finale to a remarkable day in our nation's political history, but there was a personal side to it too.

How often does a young man get to cast his first presidential vote ... for his dad?

Voted for the first time - for his dad! #18yearsold #presidentialelection #proud pic.twitter.com/kTzMFNn1AS— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) November 6, 2024

As this is a developing story, RedState will provide updates as they become available.

[sempervirens117]

I was born on July 17, 1974 in Wheeling, West Virginia to Mary Elizabeth NARANCH (née Teufel) and Daniel Virgil NARANCH. I am one of four children and the first born son. I now identify as Two Spirit and am part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. I was valedictorian of my high school (Linsly School) and am a summa cum laude 1996 graduate of Williams College. I also hold a Master’s degree and Ph.D. in global history from the Johns Hopkins University and am a former Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Humanities Scholar at Stanford University. I taught at Loyola University Maryland, the College of William and Mary, Stanford, and the University of Montana and am a published author of dozens of academic papers, articles, and essays. In 2016, I left academic life to found an environment startup, Sempervirens117, in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Northern California. I am a volunteer at TiE.org in Silicon Valley and work part-time for a local organic and sustainable winery near to San Francisco. On Earth Day 2022, I announced my candidacy for President of the United States 🇺🇸 in 2024 and have created a GoFundMe page and posted social media announcements on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn. I have chosen Governor Kathy Hochul of New York as my intended Vice Presidential running mate and am working with Silicon Valley financial backers as well as members of the Biden administration to plan my We the People listening tour of all 50 states plus Puerto Rico 🇵🇷 and the District of Columbia, beginning in September 2022. I encourage you to share my message with your friends, family, and work colleagues so that we can revitalize American 🇺🇸 politics for generations to come and achieve the foundations for a safer, more prosperous, and fully sustainable world 🌎 (at Kings Mountain, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CdEt3BHPQll/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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New York City, United States 🇺🇸! The sun sets behind the Statue of Liberty, seen from Brooklyn. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Stonehenge, UK 🇬🇧! People play music at sunrise at Stonehenge in Wiltshire. The summer solstice occurs on 21 June. It is the longest day and shortest night of the year in the northern hemisphere. Photograph: Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images

Bitlis, Turkey 🇹🇷! Farmers in Kıyıdüzü village, Tatvan, feeding their animals with the rich grass of the plateaus as the weather warms up. Photograph: Sener Toktas/Anadolu Agency/Getty

Bogotá, Colombia 🇨🇴! Gustavo Petro, the presidential candidate of the leftist Historic Pact for Colombia coalition, celebrates with his running mate Francia Márquez after winning the election. Petro was elected president of Colombia on Sunday after defeating independent candidate Rodolfo Hernández in the second round of elections in a tight race. Photograph: Xinhua/Rex/Shutterstock

Pumarejo de Tera, Spain 🇪🇸! Firefighters at the site of a wildfire in Pumarejo de Tera near Zamora. Firefighters continued to fight against multiple fires in Spain, one of which ravaged nearly 20,000 hectares of land, on the last day of an extreme heatwave, with peaks at 43C. Photograph: César Manso/AFP/Getty Images