US Presidential campains

[smartinla]

Has a Democratic US presidential nominee ever had a republican running mate, or vice versa?

[anniebird]

Originally the Founding Fathers wanted the winner in the Presidential vote to take the loser as Vice President. This did not last very long and once the Presidential candidates started picking a running mate it has always been one of their own party.

[smartinla]

Thanks anniebird. I read this morning that Barach Obama said that if he gets the nomination, he would consider all candidates including independents and republicans.

[Whickerman]

Happened in the West Wing tv show but I doubt you'll ever see it in real life.

[jno]

it's doubtful any Republican would run against an official Republican candidate, but there's no law. Dick Cheney had been out of politics for years (running Halliburton) when chosen as Bush's VP

[dundurn]

Vice versa happened. Abraham Lincoln (the first Republican President) took a Democrat (Andrew Johnson) as running mate for his re-election campaign in 1864. This was an attempt to unify the North politically. The military position had degenerated into a costly stalemate, similar to the trench warfare of WWI. The South did not surrender until the week before Lincoln's assassination. After the assassination, Johnson became President and held office until 1869.