Running Mate
The 2024 election is proving that the Number Two person on the ticket needs to be okay.
When a presidential candidate has secured enough support to become his or her party’s nominee, whether through the convention process or primary elections, the first act of competencies for the job is when they name their choice of a running mate – the vice president. For a job that could be viewed as unessential, the choice could be perceived as a home run or a flat-out bomb.
The vice presidential nominee should either complement their boss’s position or assuage potential voters' concerns on issues they feel left out. Regardless of their fit on the ticket, their main job is to be a complete jerk when hitting the campaign trail by going full blast on the opposition.
Earlier this week, former president, convicted felon, and current GOP nominee Donald Trump, who someone tried to assassinate last Saturday, announced that JD Vance, the junior senator from Ohio and a complete dweeb, to be his vice president running mate.
Vance was born James Donald Bowman in 1984. He changed his last name to Hamel before settling on his grandparents' last name, Vance, after he married in 2014. His constant name change fits the pattern of altering everything about him and his views.
His memoir Hillbilly Elegy became a best-seller, a complete rags-to-riches story where he described being raised by a drug-addicted mother, alcoholic grandparents, and not being able to afford a cell phone. He grew up poor but attended college, joined the Marines, and graduated from Yale Law School. It was hailed and decried by liberals, conservatives, and frankly, at this point, who knows what the book is supposed to be about. Ron Howard turned it into a movie, and it bombed.
Vance’s Elegy led to his popularity and a platform where he slammed rising Republican and B–list actor Trump back in 2016. Vance impressively condemned Trump, calling him all sorts of names that continued through 2020. This put him in the Never Trump camp, which is not a blood oath group because you can change your mind whenever you want, which Vance did, and here we are, where on Wednesday, JD told the world that Donald Trump is actually super duper good for the country.
Senator Vance has been in office for about as long as a hockey season, and he got there because a billionaire, Peter Theil, backed his candidacy. Yet somehow, on Wednesday, we learned that JD is super duper mad at Wall Street and will advocate for the working man, an incredible inclusive term dating back to the 14th century. As I mentioned earlier this year, we need to look out because the Populists are coming for us.
At 39, Vance potentially could be the youngest person to serve as president should we elect Trump again and then he dies a nonviolent death. But it’s clear that Vance if that is his real name, will now be the next Make America Great Again cult leader.
As it stands now, the 2024 election would feature two people who can only serve one term unless they decide to ignore the Constitution and stay in office forever.
But let’s say the norms will stay in place. This means there will be two different candidates for office when we hopefully have another election in 2028. This would be only the third time this has happened this century (2008 and 2016).
This edition of election rankings looks at presidents who declared they would be one-term presidents, and we look at their running mates.
Let's dive in.
19: The Presidential Election of 1844
Election Date: November 1 – December 4, 1844
The Candidates:
Both parties held their conventions in Baltimore, just weeks apart, because why wouldn’t you have your convention in Baltimore?
The Whigs were still around, but the guy they elected president, William Henry Harrison, died immediately in office. His running mate, John Tyler, decided he would be more of a Democratic president, which is the quickest way to ensure you won’t be on either ticket when the time comes to run for office again.
Instead, the Whigs looked to our guy Henry Clay, who was okay, but he lost in this election and this election, so it was probably inevitable that he would lose this election.
The Democrats decided to dig deep into their bench to find the Speaker of the House, James Polk and thought he was similar to their hero, Andrew Jackson, a man from the same state of Tennessee.
Major Issue of the Day:
Annexing Texas and Manifest Destiny. There was a desire to expand the United States and the path to war with Mexico.
The Winner:
Gluttony.
Americans had an appetite for expansion, and electing Polk would deliver it like a pizza.
The States in the Electoral College:
26. No new states entered the Union since the election of 1840.
The Electoral College had 531 members, and the winner needed 266 votes.
Polk squeaked out the victory, taking 15 states and 170 electoral votes. Polk’s running mate, George Dallas, who sounded like he was a manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, became the 11th Vice President after helping carry Pennsylvania and its 26 electoral votes.
Clay’s running mate was Theodore Frelinghuysen. I cannot even begin to imagine how to pronounce this last name. You have to wonder what Clay was thinking. Getting this guy’s name right on the ballot must have been quite a chore. And what campaign slogan would you use here?
The 2021 OKH Presidential Ranking:
Polk's coming in at number 10 is the biggest surprise in the rankings. I like Polk’s policies of expansion, not necessarily the methods, and I sure didn’t appreciate his desire to enslave people while living in the White House.
Why Did I Rank it Here:
If you are a fan of a one-term presidency, many are less productive than Polk’s. The man dedicated himself to the job so much that it killed him shortly after he left office.
There was a time, about every seven years or so, when the president of the United States died while in office. Nominating a capable vice president running mate, especially if you announced you too, would be another one-term presidency, could put you over the top.
Let’s dive in.
18: The Presidential Election of 1904
Election Date: November 8, 1904
The Candidates:
President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901, shortly after securing his second term when he defeated William Jennings Bryan for the second time.
McKinley’s first vice president, Garrett Hobart, died in office in 1899. Instead of nominating Adlai Stevenson, not the one who these two elections, but his father, McKinley, tapped Teddy Roosevelt, who had been the governor of New York for exactly one year.
It would prove a fruitful choice.
The Republicans ran Alton Parker, an unknown judge. This judge nominated Henry Davis, an unknown former senator from West Virginia, as his running mate.
Roosevelt and his Vice President, Charles Fairbanks, were swept into office three years after Roosevelt finished McKinley’s term. I’m not sure what Fairbanks did before becoming Teddy’s running mate, but I’m sure he did a heck of a job.
Major Issue of the Day:
Wall Street became an influencer of politics when it made an unusual alignment with Roosevelt, while Roosevelt took on big business.
Roosevelt spent much of his time in the White House breaking up monopolies and regulating business. Have you ever noticed the Republican Party never mentions this guy when listing out favorite former presidents of the party? Yet its current nominee for vice president has a few of Roosevelt’s views.
The Winner:
Progressiveness.
Parker didn’t campaign much, which was a terrible strategy if you wanted to beat a guy who was the definition of charismatic.
We made tremendous progress under Roosevelt in a variety of areas.
The States in the Electoral College:
45. Surprisingly, no new states entered the union since Utah joined in 1896. Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arizona would complete the continental United States soon enough.
The Electoral College had 476 members, and the winner needed 239 votes.
Five million people voted for Parker, which is wild. They probably thought the Parker/Davis ticket sounded good. But Teddy pounded him by two million votes and won 56% of the vote.
The 2021 OKH Presidential Ranking:
I once read a book critical of Roosevelt, and for years, it has tainted my opinion of him. I’m coming around on him, and he is safely one of the top ten presidents, at number seven.
Why Did I Rank it Here:
This was a critical election to continue Roosevelt's positive impact on the country. I probably rank this too low.
I read Hillbilly Elegy, back in 2019. I remember enjoying the book. I didn’t know much about Vance, but over the years, as I have observed his positions, I appreciate that he wants to take on monopolies. However, his opinions on marriage, abortion, guns, and walking around with a beard when it’s 100 degrees outside do not align with mine.
We wrap up beach week tomorrow. I guess we will know if President Biden is running by Monday. Until then, have a great week, everyone, and thanks for your support.
Okay,
Chris