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What's the history of presidential candidates selecting their primary rivals as running mates?

Does anyone have a rundown of which (if any) presidential candidates in (recent) history selected their most prominent rival in the primaries as their running mate in the general election (e.g., hypothetically, if Romney selects Santorum, or if Obama had picked Hillary in '08)? And which ones (if any) managed to win?

Update:

I wanted to emphasize that I'd like examples where the eventual running mate was the *most* prominent rival in the primaries. Looking back through the past couple of decades, though, I guess there weren't that many primaries that were as strongly contested as Obama/Clinton or even Romney/Santorum, so the idea of "most prominent rival" might be more debatable--or even nonexistent--in some cases.

4 Answers

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  • George
    Lv 4
    9 years ago
    Favorite Answer

    Kennedy picked Johnson in 1960. Reagan selected George H W Bush in 1980.

  • 9 years ago

    Well, Biden was a hopeful in 2008, but dropped out after poor showing in the Iowa Caucuses.

  • 9 years ago

    Began in earnest in 1956, when Stevenson selected his rival Kefauver.

  • Andy
    Lv 6
    9 years ago

    I hope Romney does pick Santorum as his running mate. That would improve Obama's chances even more.

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