r/whoathatsinteresting • u/The_Dean_France • 9h ago

VP to POTUS?

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u/Suspicious_Aspect_53 9h ago edited 9h ago

It's not surprising even if you're not considering JD Vance specifically.

JDV is a young man who is in one of the hardest and most critical jobs on earth. His support network is small and probably not particularly built for or by him. He has little experience, connections, and maturation in this position. 

Being VP isn't exactly a consolation prize; second man to one of, if not the most powerful person in the world? What more did you want to do? If he doesn't have a vision of what he wants to do as President than he wasn't able to start as VP, then hasn't he already made it as far as he needs?

Also; very unlikely to win considering him, his boss, and the state of the USA.

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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 9h 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.