What is 1840? (Or Maybe 1916?)

The answer on that famous trivia show where the answers are in the form of a question to:  A Virginian was last on a national major party ticket.

1840

or

1916

Depending on which why you look at it.

1840 is when Virginia native and resident John Tyler was the VP of William Henry Harrison (born in VA but ran from Ohio) and 1916 is when born in VA but ran from New Jersey Woodrow Wilson was the Democratic nominee for President.  (Yes I know that former Virginia congressman Virgil Goode was the Constitution Party’s presidential candidate.)

Just to show how bad the Commonwealth’s drought has been – here is the elections before 1840 where a Virginia native or ran from the Commonwealth were on a major party ticket:

1792, 1796 (sort of), 1800, 1804, 1808, 1812, 1816, 1820, 1824(Clay was born in VA – Hanover County in fact! but ran from KY), 1832(ditto), 1836 (Tyler was the Whig VP), and 1840 (Harrison and Tyler both!) and after that it was nothing other than Virginians from other states after that!  (Zachary Taylor and Wilson were born in VA but ran from Louisiana and New Jersey.)

Well NO more!

Virginian Tim Kaine (not born in the Old Dominion but in St. Paul, Minnesota!) will be the presumptive Democratic Vice Presidential nominee when the Dems meet in Philly next week for their convention.

Although I am excited to see the state honored after the long drought – I was rooting for Kaine to be selected in 2008 and this year – I still am not voting for or supporting the Hillary-Kaine ticket.  Nope!  No way!  NeverHillary!