President Quayle?

Abstract

A funny thing happened on the way to the White House in 1988. In keeping with powerful electoral trends over the last two generations, a large number of swing voters split their tickets in various ways-most prominently by voting for a Republican in the presidential contest and for Democrats in congressional races. Various polls also suggested that many Americans preferred the Republican nominee for President, but the Democratic nominee for Vice President. Yet, in sharp contrast to general electoral rules permitting ticket splitting in other contexts, voters were not allowed to split their tickets by voting for a Republican President and a Democratic Vice President. The funny thing is that Dan Quayle now stands a proverbial heartbeat away from the Oval Office, despite a real possibility that a majority of the 1988 electorate, if given a clear choice, would not have put him there.