[Dr. Sivana]

Two in 50 years

Or, put another way, two in 12 election cycles, with more than half featuring an incumbent. Nixon would be the next one back, so you could say three in 14 election cycles.

Of the 12 election cycles, '76, '80, '84, '92, '96, '04, '12, '20 featured an incumbent. Even if the incumbent didn't win ('76, '80, '92), he locks out a VP from the nomination. Mondale wasn't going to run against Jimmy Carter in 1980. If you look at the roster of nominees in the 12 cycles, there's a LOT of VPs getting the party nomination: Dole, Mondale, Bush the Elder, Gore, Biden. If we don't count Nelson Rockefeller (he was not ELECTED VP), there are only SEVEN VPs in all, as several were in for two terms. TWO out of SEVEN is not bad odds. If you were VP for 8 years, the odds soar to 2 out of 4. (Bush the Elder, Gore, Cheney, Biden)

[woodpusher]

Going back a bit further, in 1963 LBJ got the Presidency. In 1974 Gerald Ford got the Presidency without being elected as VP or Prez.