Vice presidential candidates in the American presidential elections: strategies for selection and effects

American vice presidential candidates are chosen for several reasons. Some of these rationales are easy to be recognized, while others belong to the cockles of the heart of the presidential candidates. Social scientists and journalists agree about the factors that are more essential: the vice presidential (VP) nominee\u2019s capacity of balancing the ideological and personal characteristics of the presidential candidate and the \u201cnative son\u201d effect, namely the guarantee that the VP nominee would carry his/her own state. These strategies are often combined and they work at different electoral levels: the first one has usually a national or macro-regional significance while the second is crucial in the battleground states. This research is divided into two sections: the first one investigates the \u201cbalancing the ticket\u201d strategy, offering an overview of about one century of presidential races. The second aims to verify the VP nominee\u2019s effect in his/her home state. The results will confirm that there have been several running mates who have been selected in order to \u201cbalance the ticket\u201d but also that the vice president nominee\u2019s effect in the home states has been quite poor.American vice presidential candidates are chosen for several reasons. Some of these rationales are easy to be recognized, while others belong to the cockles of the heart of the presidential candidates. Social scientists and journalists agree about the factors that are more essential: the vice presidential (VP) nominee\u2019s capacity of balancing the ideological and personal characteristics of the presidential candidate and the \u201cnative son\u201d effect, namely the guarantee that the VP nominee would carry his/her own state. These strategies are often combined and they work at different electoral levels: the first one has usually a national or macro-regional significance while the second is crucial in the battleground states. This research is divided into two sections: the first one investigates the \u201cbalancing the ticket\u201d strategy, offering an overview of about one century of presidential races. The second aims to verify the VP nominee\u2019s effect in his/her home state. The results will confirm that there have been several running mates who have been selected in order to \u201cbalance the ticket\u201d but also that the vice president nominee\u2019s effect in the home states has been quite poor