VP candidates and their home states

[kfseattle]

I'm really interested in the strategy of selecting a VP candidate.  So I did a little research here on this endlessly cool website and found some info I just thought I'd share with y'all.

Here is a list of the Democrat and Republican VP candidates since 1928, their home states and whether or not they won.  The bottom line is this:
the Democrat VP candidate wins their homestate 14 out of 19 times.  The Republican VP candidate wins their homestate 11/19 times.


1928: Robinson-WON-Arkansas;Curtis-WON-Kansas

1932: Garner-WON-Texas; Curtis-LOST-Kansas

1936: Garner-WON-Texas; Knox-LOST-Illinois

1940: Wallace-LOST-Iowa; McNary LOST-Oregon

1944: Truman-WON-Missouri; Bricker-WON-Ohio

1948: Barkley-WON-Kentucky; Warren-LOST-California

1952: Sparkman-WON-Alabama; Nixon-WON-California

1956: Kefauver-LOST-Tennessee; Nixon-WON-California

1960: Johnson-WON-Texas; Lodge-LOST-Massachussets

1964: Humphrey-WON-Minnesota; Miller-LOST NewYork

1968: Muskie-WON-Maine; Agnew LOST Maryland

1972: Shriver-LOST-Maryland.; Agnew-WON-Maryland

1976: Mondale-WON-Minnesota; Dole-WON-Kansas

1980: Mondale-WON-Minnesota; Bush-WON-Texas

1984: Ferraro-LOST-New York; Bush-WON-Texas

1988: Benton-LOST-Texas; Quayle-WON-Indiana

1992: Gore-WON-Tennessee; Quayle-WON-Indiana

1996: Gore-WON-Tennessee; Kemp-LOST-New York

2000: Lieberman-WON-Conn.; Cheney-WON-Wyoming

[JohnFKennedy]

In some of the cases of the VP losing their Home State, I believe it is because the Presidential candidate for the other party was from that state also, e.g. Cabot Lodge lost Massachusetts in 1960 which was also Kennedy's Home State.

Another example is 1988 where Bentson lost Texas which was also George Bush's Home State.

[PBrunsel]

A great list, really interesting stuff.

I have one problem though, Shriver came from Maryland, Cheney came from Wyoming. But these are just trivial problems. The list is interesting even with these two small mistakes.

[acsenray]

Also, Dole's home state was Kansas, not Nebraska.

[kfseattle]

You know, at two in the morning all those square states start to look the same...

Ok some corrections are needed...you guys are right.  For some reason I thought the map showed shriver from Mass...ok so Shriver lost Maryland.

I'd really like to get some analysis of this though.  One thing I've noticed is that a VP candidate rarely can bring in his state if his state has gone solidly for another party.
Texas went Republican in the two elections before 1960, but went Democrat when Johnson was on the ticket with Kennedy.  

Maybe some states have more "state pride" than others.  Texas would certainly come to mind.  

This makes me doubt whether or not Edwards could win North Carolina.  I think it takes a local powerhouse (like Johnson was in Texas) to swing a state over as the VP candidate.  I don't really think the Democrats have many of those in important swing states.  Thoughts?

[PBrunsel]

I think that a VP is chosen to strenghten either a Conservative or Liberal Presidential Candidate with a moderate VP, or a VP is chosen to strenghten a candidate's support in an area.

A Conservative, Ronald Reagan, chose moderate, George Bush, as a running mate in 1980.

[© tweed]

Cheney's home state was Wyoming.

[gorkay]

There are a lot of different strategies in choosing a Vice-Presidential candidate. The old ideological ticket-balancing thing has gone out of fashion lately. You'd never see a Roosevelt-Garner or Stevenson-Sparkman ticket today. Geographical ticket-balancing still happens a lot (as it did this year for the Democrats), but the strongest Democratic ticket in recent years featured two Southerners.
Democrats seem to do a little better with their choices than Republicans. I have no idea why. Nixon, Agnew, Quayle, and Cheney have all been viewed as liabilities at times.
The coolest thing a candidate has ever done with the Vice-Presidential pick is throw it open to the convention to decide, as Adlai Stevenson did in 1956.