Six-Chart Sunday (#25) – Veeps

6 Infographics from the week + 1 Video (Adam Grant on "Think Again")

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*** I put the following together prior to yesterday’s tragic & frightening events in Pennsylvania.  Praying for all those impacted and for our nation. Political violence has no place in our country. ***

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1. Who Are the Likeliest VP Nominees in 2024? Donald Trump is expected to announce his VP choice within the next 24 hours and recently named “four finalists.” President’s Biden choice remains Kamala Harris, though it’s possible the Democrats nominate someone else for President.

2. Why Do Presidents Choose VPs? Candidates for President want Vice Presidential nominees who can help them (a) win election and (b) govern if elected. Sometimes VPs are chosen to help reassure parts of the party’s base uncertain about the President, while other VPs are intended to fill a “resume hole” at the top of the ticket (e.g. lack of foreign policy experience).

3. Where Vice Presidential Nominees Have Come From. America’s 49 Vice Presidents have hailed from 22 states… 42% of them from NY, IN & MA (first map below). The 58 unsuccessful nominees for VP represented 27 different states, with the most frequent losers hailing from NY (11), IN (6), IL, OH & PA (3 each) (second map below). MA has the best net record (4-1), OH the worst (0-3).

4. Age Gaps on Presidential Tickets. Since 1940, the average major party Presidential ticket has featured a 10.3 year age gap between the Presidential & Vice Presidential nominees. Two-thirds of the time the Presidential candidate has been older. GOP tickets have generally presented age gaps twice as large as Democratic pairings. Potential Trump VP choices are in gold, not averaged in:

   

5. What Did VPs Do Before Being Nominated? Most Vice Presidential nominees brought significant government experience, particularly in the U.S. Senate. (Pew)

6. Is the VP Job “Worth More than a Bucket of Warm Spit”? 30% of the time (15 of 49) the Vice President has gone on to serve as President. 12 more VPs tried and failed to land the top job. VPs matter!

VIDEO

Wharton’s top-rated professor for the past 7 years in a row, Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist & bestselling author who explores the science of motivation, generosity, rethinking and human potential. We chatted in 2021 about his (then) new book Think Again.