Why vice presidential picks matter: significant moments in history and transfers of power

WASHINGTON (AP) — Of the 49 vice presidents in U.S. history, nine of them — or nearly 1 in 5 — have risen to the presidency due to death or resignation.

The first was John Tyler, who became president after William Henry Harrison died one month into his term. The most recent was Gerald Ford, who took office upon Richard Nixon’s resignation.

Now in 2024, the spotlight is growing on the two parties’ vice-presidential picks — Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, and Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio — due to the advanced ages of the two presidential candidates as well as an assassination attempt on GOP nominee Donald Trump on Saturday. The vice presidents who ascended to the top job have been behind some significant moments in U.S. history, including Reconstruction, the dropping of atomic bombs to end World War II, and the signing of the Civil Rights Act.

“For most vice presidents, succession is something that you have to think about and plan for, but it doesn’t happen,” said Joel Goldstein, a historian and expert on the vice presidency. “But when it happens, you’ve got to be ready.”

The four vice presidents during the 19th century who ascended to the top job were never elected to a presidential term in their own right, while in the 20th century, four of the five vice presidents who ascended would go on to win the White House as incumbents. Goldstein said early on, party leaders chose running mates and produced tickets that represented opposite wings of a party, or even different parties. That would change in the 20th century, when vice presidential picks had much more impressive resumes and political profiles of their own.

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