Presidential elections Prior to the ratification of the
Twelfth Amendment, the presidential runner-up would be elected vice president. This resulted in
John Adams of the
Federalist Party winning the presidency while opponent
Thomas Jefferson of the
Democratic-Republican Party became his vice president. The only unity ticket to win the presidency was the
National Union Party in the
1864 presidential election, which ran a unity ticket between
Abraham Lincoln of the
Republican Party and
Andrew Johnson of the
Democratic Party. Lincoln's
assassination resulted in Johnson taking office and drastically changing
reconstruction era policy. Democrat
John Kerry considered choosing Republican
John McCain as his running mate in the
2004 presidential election. In turn, John McCain gave serious consideration to a unity ticket with former Democrat
Joe Lieberman in the
2008 presidential election. Several commentators suggested that the Democratic Party field a unity ticket with a moderate Republican to challenge
Donald Trump in 2020 and win the votes of
Never Trump Republicans. Presidential unity tickets in the 21st century are often criticized as being unrealistic. Some notable third party runs have incorporated unity tickets: • In the
1856 presidential election, former president
Millard Fillmore of the
Whig Party and
Andrew Jackson Donelson of the Democratic Party ran a third-party campaign under the
Know Nothing ticket, carrying the state of
Maryland. • In the
1924 presidential election,
Robert M. La Follette of the Republican Party and
Burton K. Wheeler of the Democratic Party ran a third-party campaign under the
Progressive Party, carrying the state of
Wisconsin. • In the
1968 presidential election,
George Wallace of the Democratic Party and
Curtis LeMay of the Republican Party ran a third-party campaign under the
American Independent Party, carrying five states. • In the
1980 presidential election,
John B. Anderson of the Republican Party and
Patrick Lucey of the Democratic Party ran an independent campaign, carrying no states.
Statewide elections In
2014,
Bill Walker of the Republican Party and
Byron Mallott of the Democratic Party were elected governor and lieutenant governor of
Alaska. Democrat
Patrick Murphy floated a gubernatorial campaign with Republican
David Jolly in the
2018 Florida gubernatorial election, but they ultimately did not run. When Republican
Bob Krist launched an independent campaign in the
2018 Nebraska gubernatorial election, it was speculated that he would run a unity ticket, but he eventually ran as the Democratic nominee with a Democratic running mate. == See also ==