Gingrich/Romney '12?

[Anitius Severinus Boethius]

That’s an interesting question, so I’ll put up what I find. Do sitting Vice-Presidents win their parties nomination when the sitting President chooses not to, or is unable, to run?

George Washington — John Adams - Yes
Thomas Jefferson — George Clinton - no nomination process, but did run, so ‘Yes’
James Monroe — Daniel Thompson - No
Andrew Jackson — Martin Van Buren - Yes
James Polk — George Dallas - No
James Buchanan — John Breckinridge - Yes
Rutherford Hayes — William Wheeler - No
Grover Cleveland — Adlai Stevenson - No
Theodore Roosevelt — Charles Fairbanks - No
Calvin Coolidge — Charles Dawes - No
Harry Truman — Alben Barkley - No
Dwight Eisenhower — Richard Nixon - Yes
Lyndon Johnson — Hubert Humphrey - Yes
Ronald Reagan — George H. W. Bush - Yes
William Clinton — Albert Gore - Yes
George W. Bush — Richard Cheney - No

So it looks like in the 16 cases where a Vice-President could have been nominated as their parties nominee, it has only happened 8 times. But, 4 of the 8 have happened in the last 52 years, so it sure does seem like that’s the case in modern history.

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks for the interesting response.

I was about to mention Ford, but then he became president mid-term, and didn’t have to stand for nomination as a V.P. at the end of Nixon’s tenure.

Take care...