John Nance Garner, Franklin D Roosevelt’s running mate better known as “Cactus Jack”, famously said that “the vice-presidency was not worth a bucket of warm spit”. In the “Year of the Trump” and a US presidential election with the two most unpopular (presumed) nominees in modern political history standing, the picking of the running mate has taken on a new significance, well beyond that of tepid saliva. Conventional political wisdom suggests a nominee should pick someone to guarantee them victory in a swing state – Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio are the big ones – that will lock up electoral college votes and win them the White House. The right running mate might also cover a weak flank in...
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