1952 Republican Party vice presidential candidate selection
This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Republican nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1952 election. After defeating Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft for the Republican presidential nomination at the 1952 Republican National Convention, General Dwight D. Eisenhower needed to choose a running mate. Taft recommended Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen, but Eisenhower rejected the suggestion.[1] Eisenhower and his advisers put together a list of prominent Republicans who were acceptable to both the conservative Taft and liberal Dewey wings of the party, anti-Communist, talented at campaigning, relatively young (to balance Eisenhower's age), and who contributed to Eisenhower's nomination victory.[1] After conferring with Republican Party leaders, Eisenhower decided to ask California Senator Richard Nixon to be his running mate; Nixon accepted the offer.[2] Nixon had carefully campaigned for the post of vice president since meeting Eisenhower in 1951, and Nixon helped deliver the California delegation to Eisenhower in the presidential ballot.[3] The Republican convention ratified Eisenhower's choice of Nixon.[4] Months after the convention, Eisenhower considered asking Nixon to step down as running mate due to controversy surrounding campaign expenses, but Nixon rallied public opinion with his Checkers speech and remained on the ticket.[5] The Eisenhower-Nixon ticket won the 1952 election, as well as the 1956 election, defeating the Stevenson-Sparkman and Stevenson-Kefauver tickets, respectively.
Potential running mates
Finalists
- California Senator Richard Nixon
- Massachusetts Senator & Co-Campaign Manager Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.[6]
- Minnesota Representative Walter Judd[1]
- Indiana Representative Charles A. Halleck[1]
- California Senator William F. Knowland[1]
- Colorado Governor Daniel Thornton[1]
- Washington Governor Arthur B. Langlie[7]
Others
- Illinois Senator Everett Dirksen[1]
- Ohio Senator Robert Taft[2]
See also
References
- Ambrose, Stephen (18 March 2014). Eisenhower Volume I: Soldier, General of the Army, President-Elect, 1890-1952. Simon and Schuster. pp. 445–448. ISBN 9781476745862. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- Gellman, Irwin (2015-07-28). The President and the Apprentice: Eisenhower and Nixon, 1952-1961. Yale University Press. pp. 17–18. ISBN 9780300182255. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- Brownstein, Ronald (3 July 1988). "How Nixon Went National". LA Times. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- Lawrence, WH (12 July 1952). "Eisenhower Nominated on the First Ballot; Senator Nixon Chosen as His Running Mate; General Pledges 'Total Victory' Crusade". New York Times. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- "VP Richard Nixon". US Senate. US Senate. Retrieved 7 October 2015.
- https://www.barnesandnoble.com/readouts/the-president-and-the-apprentice-eisenhower-and-nixon-1952-1961/
- Sigelman, Lee; Wahlbeck, Paul (December 1997). "The "Veepstakes": Strategic Choice in Presidential Running Mate Selection". The American Political Science Review. 91 (4): 858. doi:10.2307/2952169. JSTOR 2952169.