Which US President seeking reelection had to run without a Vice Presidential running mate?

Martin Van Buren (born December 5, 1782 – died July 24, 1862) was an American politician who served as the eighth President of the United States (1837–41). A member of the Democratic Party, he served in a number of senior roles, including eighth Vice President (1833–37) and tenth Secretary of State (1829–31), both under Andrew Jackson. Van Buren's inability as president to deal with the deep economic depression following the Panic of 1837 and with the surging Whig Party led to his defeat in the 1840 election by presidential candidate William Henry Harrison of the Whig Party.

In the 1840 election, Van Buren, the incumbent president, was renominated in Baltimore in May 1840. The Democractic Party refused to renominate his sitting vice president, Richard Mentor Johnson, but could not agree on an alternative, and so nominated no one. Because of this, Van Buren had to run without a vice presidential running mate.

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8 Comments

Claude E Lett III

This is not correct. Richard M Johnson was his running mate. Gerald Ford is only presidential candidate without a running mate

Howard Groopman

Interesting, never knew this, despite my large knowledge of politics.

Marian Spitzig

But none ran as a ticket, as we think of today...

dvdeaton

John Tyler, Millard Fillmore COULDN'T be re-elected; they entered the office of the president as vice president and took office upon the deaths of their respective presidents; they weren't elected to the presidency in the first place. William Henry Harrison died less than one month after being elected, the shortest presidency ever..

Ann English

I knew it couldn't possibly be William Henry Harrison, since he didn't live out his only term; he lived for only a month after his inauguration. I don't know why I chose Van Buren. John Tyler was the first VP to take over the Presidency after his predecessor's death (Harrison) and Millard Fillmore took over Zachary Taylor's presidency after his death. I don't know how interested Tyler and Fillmore were in seeking second terms. But maybe Tyler was more interested in raising children than he was in politics; he fathered 15 of them, more than any other President, and the 7 or 8 children he had with his second wife, were raised after he left the White House.