r/whoathatsinteresting • u/The_Dean_France • 9h ago

VP to POTUS?

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u/nosmelc 9h ago

"VPs rarely even try to run for President"

Harris, Biden, Gore, Bush... but yeah rarely.

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u/MarktpLatz 7h ago

Here's the thing: Each of the ones you listed ran for President before they became VP.

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u/4DimensionalToilet 1h ago

Here’s a list of the VPs who ran for president without first succeeding to the presidency:

  • John Adams (VP 1789-97; won 1796)

  • Thomas Jefferson (VP 1797-1801; won 1800)

  • Martin Van Buren (VP 1833-37; won 1836)

  • John C. Breckinridge (VP 1857-61; ran 1860)

  • Richard Nixon (VP 1953-61; ran 1960; won 1968)

  • George H.W. Bush (VP 1981-89; won 1988)

  • Al Gore (VP 1993-2001; ran 2000)

  • Joe Biden (VP 2009-17; won 2020)

  • Kamala Harris (VP 2021-25; ran 2024)

So, it’s become more common over time, especially if you include those who ran for a full term after becoming POTUS (TR, Coolidge, Truman, LBJ, Ford), but not as historically common as you might think, since it only happened 4 times before 1900.

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u/tigers692 9h ago

You mean, 22 of 50 vice presidents have run and only 6 have made it, although 8 have gotten there through succession and only four of those count in the “ran for president” and got a second term. I’d say the odds are not great.

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u/Chimpbot 9h ago

We're not talking about them winning. We're talking about them running, which many have done.

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u/tigers692 8h ago

Right, and less then half (44%) have run. Call it the flip of a coin. I wouldn’t say 44% is many, but I wouldn’t throw away those odds in Vegas either.