<P> Historically, vice presidential candidates were chosen to provide geographic and ideological balance to a presidential ticket, widening a presidential candidate's appeal to voters from outside his regional base or wing of the party . Candidates from electoral - vote rich states were usually preferred . However, in 1992, moderate Democrat Bill Clinton (of Arkansas) chose moderate Democrat Al Gore (of Tennessee) as his running mate . Despite the two candidates' near - identical ideological and regional backgrounds, Gore's extensive experience in national affairs enhanced the appeal of a ticket headed by Clinton, whose political career had been spent entirely at the local and state levels of government . In 2000, George W. Bush chose Dick Cheney of Wyoming, a reliably Republican state with only three electoral votes, and in 2008, Barack Obama mirrored Bush's strategy when he chose Joe Biden of Delaware, a reliably Democratic state, likewise one with only three electoral votes . Both Cheney and Biden were chosen for their experience in national politics (experience lacked by both Bush and Obama) rather than the ideological balance or electoral vote advantage they would provide . </P> <P> Prior to the 2000 election, both George W. Bush and Dick Cheney lived in and voted in Texas . While nothing in the Constitution prohibits a presidential candidate and his or her running mate being from the same state, the "inhabitant clause" of the Twelfth Amendment does mandate that every presidential elector must cast a ballot for at least one candidate who is not from their own state . To avoid creating a potential problem for Texas' electors, Cheney changed his residency back to Wyoming prior to the campaign . </P> <P> The first presidential candidate to choose his vice presidential candidate was Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940 . The last not to name a vice presidential choice, leaving the matter up to the convention, was Democrat Adlai Stevenson in 1956 . The convention chose Tennessee Senator Estes Kefauver over Massachusetts Senator (and later president) John F. Kennedy . At the tumultuous 1972 Democratic convention, presidential nominee George McGovern selected Senator Thomas Eagleton as his running mate, but numerous other candidates were either nominated from the floor or received votes during the balloting . Eagleton nevertheless received a majority of the votes and the nomination, though he later resigned from the ticket, resulting in Sargent Shriver becoming McGovern's final running mate; both lost to the Nixon - Agnew ticket by a wide margin, carrying only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia . </P> <P> In cases where the presidential nomination is still in doubt as the convention approaches, the campaigns for the two positions may become intertwined . In 1976, Ronald Reagan, who was trailing President Gerald R. Ford in the presidential delegate count, announced prior to the Republican National Convention that, if nominated, he would select Senator Richard Schweiker as his running mate . This move backfired to a degree, as Schweiker's relatively liberal voting record alienated many of the more conservative delegates who were considering a challenge to party delegate selection rules to improve Reagan's chances . In the end, Ford narrowly won the presidential nomination and Reagan's selection of Schweiker became moot . </P>

When did the runner up stop becoming vice president