Veepstakes have evolved from where you live to who you are − which way will Harris turn to balance the ticket?

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris greet supporters on Aug. 20, 2020, at the end of the Democratic National Convention in Wilmington, Del. Olivier Douliery/AFP/Getty Images by Philip Klinkner, Hamilton College Vice presidential picks can’t help a presidential candidate, but they can hurt one, according to political scientists. Presidential campaigns still spend a fair amount of time thinking about running mates and the ways in which they might boost the ticket – or at least not hurt it. Who will Vice President Kamala Harris pick as her running mate, now that she appears set to be the Democratic nominee? During the 19th and through much of the 20th century, parties picked vice president candidates who would provide the ticket with some geographic or factional balance. In many cases, those amounted to the same thing. That approach has shifted in more recent years to selections based on experience and ideology. Those shifts have mirrored changes in U.S. politics over the decades and centuries. Here’s a run-through of vice presidential picks since 1960 and what considerations were prominent in the choice of these running mates. As a scholar who studies American politics as well as parties and...