This is the first time in the party's history a true westerner has been on the ticket.

[Drunken Irishman]

If you're from the West, you likely don't consider Texas as such.

The furthest west any Democratic ticket has gone is Texas (LBJ as JFK's running-mate in 1960, then as the party's nominee in 1964 - as well as Lloyd Bentsen, who was Dukakis' running-mate in 1988) and South Dakota (George McGovern, the party's nominee in 1972).

That's pretty cool for us western folks!

So, why so long - especially when the GOP has nominated multiple candidates from the west before (Nixon and Reagan from California, Goldwater and McCain from Arizona, Palin from Alaska)? Easy: prior to 1992, California was pretty much Republican-leaning at the presidential level, and consistently elected Republican governors, while other western states, like Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and now Arizona, were reliably Republican.

It really showcases just how much the region has shifted politically over the last few years.

(and I know Obama was born in Hawaii, but his home state as a candidate was Illinois)

[Coventina]

1. Yep, first candidate west of the Rockies

[RockRaven]

2. IIRC, the first Republican nominee ever was from CA, 1856 Fremont

Lincoln was the first Republican potus, but not the first nominee.

[Drunken Irishman]

6. Hoover's home state was also California.

In fact, of the last seven Republican presidents, all have either come from California, New York or Texas.

[underpants]

3. I hadn't thought of that.

The more you know 🌟

[Glorfindel]

4. I hadn't thought of that. Good point, indeed.

Nobody can say Democrats aren't "balanced." Biden from a teeny-tiny eastern state, Harris from a gargantuan western state...sweetest ticket in history. But I do have a soft spot for the Jimmy Carter-Walter Mondale administration.

[Drunken Irishman]

5. Republican presidents have generally come from larger states.

Trump: New York
Bush: Texas
H.W. Bush: Texas
Reagan: California
Nixon: California
Eisenhower: New York
Hoover: California

So, two from New York, three from California and two from Texas.

Democrats over that same span:

Obama: Illinois
Clinton: Arkansas
Carter: Georgia
LBJ: Texas
JFK: Massachusetts
Truman: Missouri
FDR: New York

If Biden wins, he'll be the smallest state of any president in modern history.

A lot of diversity there.

[hlthe2b]

8. We should have had a true westerner from Colorado 1988, Gary Hart

and yes, despite the RW setup (yes, it was actually a RW set-up)that he could not counter in a manner he considered honorable, that was a big loss to us. It gave us Reagan!