Veepstakes

2025-06-11T13:39:41Z

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{{Short description|Selection of a running mate by U.S. presidential candidates}}
{{refimprove|date=October 2012}}
{{see also|Vice President of the United States#Nominating process}}

'''Veepstakes''' is an informal term for the quadrennial process in which candidates for [[president of the United States]] select a [[running mate]]. If the ticket wins, the running mate becomes the [[Vice President of the United States|vice president of the United States]] and [[United States presidential line of succession|first in line to the presidency]].

==Etymology==
A [[blend word]] of the words [[wikt:veep|"veep"]] and "[[sweepstakes]]", the [[neologism]] has been found in print as far back as 1952.<ref>{{cite web|last=Popik|first=Barry|url=http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/veepstakes_veep_sweepstakes/|title=The Big Apple: Veepstakes (Veep + sweepstakes)|publisher=Barrypopik.com|date=2012-03-24|accessdate=2013-10-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Lerer |first1=Lisa |last2=Glueck |first2=Katie |date=2024-07-24 |title=What's More Exciting Than a Veepstakes? A Surprise Veepstakes. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/24/us/politics/harris-vice-president-search.html |access-date=2024-07-24 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Selection process==
Once the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] and the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] choose their presumptive presidential nominees for the election, the candidates themselves choose their running mates. Running mates are heavily vetted before being announced in the weeks prior to the [[United States presidential nominating convention|party national convention]]. The selection of a running mate is given considerable attention because the individual chosen can be seen to [[Ticket balance|broaden the ticket's appeal]] by complementing and balancing its strengths, ideologically, geographically, and with respect to credentials on either foreign or domestic policy.

Occasionally, the running mate is chosen from the pool of candidates who also ran in the primary, as was the case in 1960 with [[John F. Kennedy]] choosing [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], 1980 with [[Ronald Reagan]] choosing [[George H. W. Bush]], 2004 with [[John Kerry]] picking [[John Edwards]], 2008 with [[Barack Obama]] picking [[Joe Biden]], and in 2020 with Biden picking [[Kamala Harris]].

Some presidential candidates who did not win their party's nomination have prematurely announced running mates, such as [[Ronald Reagan]] selecting [[Richard Schweiker]] in 1976, and [[Ted Cruz]] selecting [[Carly Fiorina]] in 2016.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=History Suggests Ted Cruz's Early Running-Mate Gambit Won't Work|url=https://time.com/4310237/ted-cruz-carly-fiorina-early-running-mate-announcements-history/|access-date=2022-04-26|magazine=Time|language=en}}</ref>

==Historical examples==
In 1960, when Senator [[John F. Kennedy]] of [[Massachusetts]] won his party's presidential nomination, he chose Senator [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] of [[Texas]] in an effort to win that state's critical [[Electoral College (United States)|electoral votes]] and to enhance his appeal in the [[Southern United States|South]].

In 2000, Texas Governor [[George W. Bush]] attempted to counter a perception of his inexperience by choosing [[Dick Cheney]], a former [[White House Chief of Staff]], [[United States House of Representatives|House Representative]], [[United States Secretary of Defense|Secretary of Defense]], and CEO of [[Halliburton]].

==See also==
*[[Ticket balance]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Wiktionary|veepstakes}}
{{United States vice presidential candidate selection}}

[[Category:American political neologisms]]
[[Category:United States presidential elections terminology]]

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Veepstakes