Prior VP nominee selection dates

Both Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain are waiting until what seems like the last minute to announce their running mates.

But by historical standards, Obama and McCain are right on time. Since 1960, virtually every presidential candidate has named his running mate within one week of his party’s convention – or at the convention itself. Only Sen. John F. Kerry’s early selection of Sen. John Edwards breaks the pattern: Kerry declared Edwards was his pick twenty days before the Democratic convention started in 2004.


1960

Democrats: Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy picked Texas Sen. Lyndon B. Johnson for his ticket near the end of the Democratic National Convention on July 14.

Republicans: Vice President Richard Nixon chose former Massachusetts Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge to be his running mate on July 28, during the Republican National Convention.

1964

Democrats: President Lyndon B. Johnson named Minnesota Sen. Hubert Humphrey as his party’s vice presidential candidate on August 27, just hours before traveling to the Democratic National Convention.

Republicans: Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater announced on July 15, in the midst of the Republican convention, that New York Rep. William E. Miller would be his running mate.

1968

Democrats: Maine Sen. Edmund Muskie was tapped to be Vice President Hubert Humphrey’s running mate on August 29, at the end of the tumultuous, riot-filled convention in Chicago.

Republicans: Former Vice President Richard Nixon chose Maryland Gov. Spiro T. Agnew as his running mate on August 8, during his party’s nominating convention.

1972

Democrats: South Dakota Sen. George McGovern named Missouri Sen. Thomas Eagleton as his party’s vice presidential candidate on July 14, at the Democratic National Convention. Eagleton would later be replaced by former Peace Corps Director Sargent Shriver.

Republicans: Incumbents Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew were renominated as the Republican ticket.

1976

Democrats: On July 15, during the Democratic National Convention, Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter selected Sen. Walter F. Mondale of Minnesota to be his running mate.

Republicans: President Gerald Ford chose Kansas Sen. Bob Dole to replace incumbent Vice President Nelson Rockefeller at the Republican National Convention on August 19.

1980

Democrats: Jimmy Carter and Walter F. Mondale were renominated as the Democratic ticket.

Republicans: Former California Gov. Ronald Reagan named George H. W. Bush as his running mate on July 17, just after winning his party’s nomination at the Republican National Convention.

1984

Democrats: Former Vice President Walter F. Mondale announced New York Rep. Geraldine A. Ferraro as his running mate in St. Paul, Minn., on July 12, four days before the opening of the Democratic National Convention on July 16.

Republicans: Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush were renominated as the Republican ticket.

1988

Democrats: Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis picked Sen. Lloyd Bentsen of Texas to be his running mate on July 13, 1988, less than a week before the Democratic convention began on July 19.

Republicans: Indiana Sen. Dan Quayle was announced as the Republican Vice Presidential candidate during the Republican convention in New Orleans on August 16.

1992

Democrats: Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton selected Tennessee Sen. Al Gore as his running mate on July 9, the week before the Democratic convention started in New York on July 13.

Republicans: George Bush and Dan Quayle were renominated as the Republican ticket.

1996

Democrats: Incumbents Bill Clinton and Al Gore were renominated as the Democratic ticket.

Republicans: Kansas Sen. Bob Dole announced former New York congressman and Housing Secretary Jack Kemp as his choice for vice president on August 10, two days before the beginning of the Republican convention in San Diego.

2000

Democrats: Vice President Al Gore named Connecticut Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman to be his running mate on August 7, seven days in advance of the Democratic convention in Los Angeles.

Republicans: On July 25, less than a week before Republican National Convention began on July 31, Texas Gov. George W. Bush announced that his running mate would be former Wyoming congressman and Defense Secretary Dick Cheney.

2004

Democrats: Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kerry chose North Carolina Sen. John Edwards to be his party’s nominee for vice president on July 6, nearly three weeks before the Democratic National Convention began on July 26.

Republicans: George W. Bush and Dick Cheney were renominated as the Republican ticket.