1972 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection

This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Democratic nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1972 election.

1972 Democratic vice presidential nomination

← 1968 July 13, 1972 (1972-07-13) (Thomas Eagleton) August 1, 1972 (1972-08-01) (Sargent Shiver) 1976 →

Nominee Sargent Shriver Thomas Eagleton (withdrew) Home state Maryland Missouri

Previous Vice Presidential nominee Edmund Muskie Vice Presidential nominee Thomas Eagleton (Until July 13) Sargent Shriver (After Aug. 1)

Coming into the 1972 Democratic National Convention, South Dakota Senator George McGovern had the delegate lead, but did not have the presidential nomination locked up.^[1] After winning the Democratic nomination for president on July 13, McGovern looked for a running mate.^[2] McGovern's first choice for vice president was Ted Kennedy, but Kennedy refused to join the ticket; Minnesota Senator Walter Mondale,^[2] Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson, and Connecticut Senator Abraham A. Ribicoff also declined.^[1] McGovern offered the position to Missouri Senator Thomas Eagleton, who appealed to labor groups and Catholics, two groups that McGovern had alienated during the primary campaign.^[1] The ticket of McGovern and Eagleton was nominated by the 1972 Democratic National Convention.

Following the convention, it was revealed that Eagleton had received treatment for depression in the 1960s.^[1] Though McGovern considered keeping Eagleton on the ticket, he ultimately chose to replace Eagleton with former ambassador Sargent Shriver.^[3] The McGovern–Shriver ticket lost the presidential election to the Nixon–Agnew ticket. After the controversy surrounding Eagleton, future campaigns spent much more time vetting vice presidential candidates.^[2]

Potential running mates

• 
  Former Ambassador
  Sargent Shriver
  of Maryland
  (1968–1970)
• 
  Senator
  Thomas Eagleton
  of Missouri
  (1968–1987)
• 
  Senator
  Abraham Ribicoff
  of Connecticut
  (1963–1981)
  (declined)
• 
  Senator
  Mike Gravel
  of Alaska
  (1969–1981)
• 
  Governor
  Dale Bumpers
  of Arkansas
  (1971–1975)
• 
  Representative and 1972 presidential candidate
  Wilbur Mills
  of Arkansas
  (1939–1977)
• 
  Mayor
  Kevin White
  of Boston, MA
  (1968–1984)
• 
  Anchor of the CBS Evening News
  Walter Cronkite
  of New York
  (1962–1981)^[4]
• 
  Chair of the Democratic National Committee
  Larry O'Brien
  of Massachusetts
  (1970–1972; 1968-1969)
• 
  Governor
  Reubin Askew
  of Florida
  (1971–1979)
• 
  Senator
  Frank Church
  of Idaho
  (1957–1981)
• 
  Senator
  Adlai Stevenson III
  of Illinois
  (1970–1981)
• 
  Senator
  Birch Bayh
  of Indiana
  (1963–1981)
• 
  Senator, 1968 vice-presidential nominee, and 1972 presidential candidate
  Edmund Muskie
  of Maine
  (1959–1980)
• 
  Former Governor
  Endicott Peabody
  of Massachusetts
  (1963–1965)
• 
  Senator
  Ted Kennedy
  of Massachusetts
  (1962–2009)
• 
  Representative
  James G. O'Hara
  of Michigan
  (1959–1977)
• 
  Senator
  Philip Hart
  of Michigan
  (1959–1976)
• 
  Senator
  Walter Mondale
  of Minnesota
  (1964–1976)
• 
  Representative
  Peter Rodino
  of New Jersey
  (1949–1989)^[5]
• 
  Mayor
  Moon Landrieu
  of New Orleans, LA
  (1970–1978)
• 
  Governor
  John J. Gilligan
  of Ohio
  (1971–1975)
• 
  Former State Representative
  Frances Farenthold
  from Texas
  (1969-1973)
• 
  President of the United Auto Workers
  Leonard Woodcock
  of Michigan
  (1970–1977)
• 
  Chair of the United States Commission on Civil Rights
  Father Theodore Hesburgh
  of Indiana
  (1969–1972)^[4]
• 
  Governor
  Patrick Lucey
  of Wisconsin
  (1971–1975)
• 
  Senator
  Gaylord Nelson
  of Wisconsin
  (1963–1981)

Frances Farenthold's candidacy

At the 1972 Democratic National Convention, there was a grassroots effort to nominate Frances Farenthold, a Texas state representative and unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor of Texas. She had gained recognition due to her surprising, though unsuccessful, forced run-off against Texas’ incumbent Democratic Governor Preston Smith and former state representative Dolph Briscoe, the favorite for the nomination and eventual winner, in the Democratic primaries.^[6]

The effort to nominate her for vice president came after the realization that Shirley Chisholm, the first major black candidate for President of the United States, would not have the delegates necessary to win the nomination at the convention. Chisholm had had the endorsement of and had helped found the National Women's Political Caucus, a new organization formed in Washington, D.C. in 1971.^[7] Following her convention defeat, the caucus had moved to recruit Farenthold to run for the vice presidency. The individual chosen to place Francis “Sissy” Farenthold's name in nomination for vice president would be Gloria Steinem, the co-founder of Ms. magazine.^[6]

Although the nomination effort aroused the convention-goers mired in malaise and anger from the difficult 1972 Democratic National Convention, the campaign for her vice presidency was highly disorganized and last-minute, without a serious chance at denying Senator Thomas Eagleton his nomination by George McGovern. Despite coming from the state of Texas, the Texas delegation, controlled by Dolph Briscoe, did not support her candidacy. Regardless, the balloting for vice president finished with Farenthold receiving 405 delegates, and 13.73% of the vote, the second-most of all of the candidates.^[8]

Farenthold was the first serious female candidate for the nomination for vice president of the United States by either major party. She would go on to once again compete with and lose to Dolph Briscoe for the Democratic nomination for governor of Texas in 1974.

See also

• 1972 Democratic National Convention
• 1972 Democratic Party presidential primaries

References

1. NPR Staff (August 4, 2012). "The Thomas Eagleton Affair Haunts Candidates Today". NPR. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
2. Altman, Lawrence (July 23, 2012). "Hasty and Ruinous 1972 Pick Colors Today's Hunt for a No. 2". New York Times. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
3. Thurber, Jon (March 5, 2007). "Thomas Eagleton, 77; vice presidential candidate left race over health reports". LA Times. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
4. Weil, Gordon Lee (1973). The Long Shot: George McGovern Runs For President. New York: Norton. pp. 161–162. ISBN 0-393-05498-5.
5. Rudin, Ken (March 7, 2007). "The Eagleton Fiasco of 1972". NPR. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
6. "Frances Tarlton "Sissy" Farenthold | Vice Presidential Nomination". law.utexas.edu. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
7. "History". National Women's Political Caucus. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
8. "Our Campaigns - US Vice President - D Convention Race - Jul 10, 1972". www.ourcampaigns.com. Retrieved January 25, 2021.