1992 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection

1992 Democratic vice presidential nomination

July 9, 1992 (1992-07-09)

Nominee Al Gore Home state Tennessee

Previous Vice Presidential nominee Lloyd Bentsen Vice Presidential nominee Al Gore

This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Democratic nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1992 election. On June 2, 1992, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton won the 1992 Democratic nomination for President of the United States, and became the presumptive nominee. On July 9, 1992, Tennessee Senator Albert Gore Jr. was chosen as his running mate.

Clinton considered roughly forty different candidates for vice president, including those who did not hold elective office, but Clinton ultimately chose Gore, a two-term senator who had previously run for president in 1988. Former Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher led Clinton's vice presidential selection team. In making the selection, Clinton emphasized Gore's experience with foreign policy and environmental issues. Clinton's choice of a fellow young southern centrist defied conventional wisdom, but the choice of Gore was well-received, and Gore made an effective surrogate on the campaign trail.

The Clinton–Gore ticket would go on to defeat the Republican ticket of incumbents Bush–Quayle and the Independent ticket of Perot–Stockdale in 1992, and the Republican ticket of Dole–Kemp and the Reform ticket of Perot–Choate in 1996. The Clinton-Gore duo became the youngest ticket in history to win a presidential election. Gore went on to become the Democratic presidential nominee in 2000 but ultimately lost to George W. Bush in the general election.

Selection

Final Six

• 
  Senator and 1988 presidential candidate
  Al Gore
  from Tennessee
  (1985–1993)
• 
  Senator
  Bob Graham
  from Florida
  (1987–2005)
• 
  Representative
  Lee H. Hamilton
  from Indiana
  (1965–1999)
• 
  Senator
  Jay Rockefeller
  from West Virginia
  (1985–2015)
• 
  Senator
  Harris Wofford
  from Pennsylvania
  (1991–1995)
• 
  Senator and 1992 presidential candidate
  Bob Kerrey
  from Nebraska
  (1989–2001)

Media speculation on possible vice presidential candidates

Members of Congress

• 
  Senator
  Bill Bradley
  from New Jersey
  (1979–1997)
• 
  Representative
  John Lewis
  from Georgia
  (1987–2020)
• 
  Representative
  Nancy Pelosi
  from California
  (1987–present)
• 
  Former Senator and 1992 presidential candidate
  Paul Tsongas
  from Massachusetts
  (1979–1985)

Governors

• 
  Governor
  Mario Cuomo
  from New York
  (1983–1994)
• 
  Governor
  Ann Richards
  from Texas
  (1991–1995)

Other Individuals

• 
  California State Treasurer
  Kathleen Brown
  from California
  (1991–1995)
• 
  Founder of the Children's Defense Fund
  Marian Wright Edelman
• 
  Reverend and 1984/1988 presidential candidate
  Jesse Jackson
  from District of Columbia
• 
  Mayor of Baltimore
  Kurt Schmoke
  from Maryland
  (1987–1999)
• 
  CEO of Apple Inc.
  John Sculley
  from California
  (1983–1993)

See also

• Bill Clinton 1992 presidential campaign
• 1992 Democratic Party presidential primaries
• 1992 Democratic National Convention
• 1992 United States presidential election
• List of United States major party presidential tickets