1980 Republican vice presidential nomination

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Nominee George H. W. Bush Home state Texas

Previous Vice Presidential nominee Bob Dole Vice Presidential nominee George H. W. Bush

This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Republican nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1980 election. Former California Governor Ronald Reagan won the 1980 Republican nomination for President of the United States, and chose former CIA Director George H. W. Bush as his running mate.

Reagan had considered naming former president Gerald Ford as his running mate, but after Ford and Reagan were unable to agree to be on the same ticket (a televised interview with Ford brought up possibility of a "co-presidency"), Reagan turned to Bush, his primary rival for the 1980 Republican nomination.^[1][2] Though Bush had criticized Reagan's policies, Reagan chose Bush to help unify the party, and Bush agreed to be on the ticket and to support Reagan's platform.^[3][4]

The Reagan–Bush ticket would go on to defeat the Democratic tickets of Carter–Mondale in 1980 and Mondale–Ferraro in 1984. Bush was later elected president in his own right in 1988.

When Reagan unsuccessfully sought the 1976 nomination he had named Senator Richard Schweiker as his running mate but was not considered again when Reagan won the 1980 nomination.

Potential running mates

^[1][5][6]

• 
  Former Ambassador to the U.K.
  Anne Armstrong
  (1976–1977)
• 
  Senator and Senate Minority Leader
  Howard Baker
  from Tennessee
  (1967–1985)
• 
  Former Secretary of the Treasury
  John Connally
  of Texas
  (1971-1973)
• 
  Former President of the United States
  Gerald Ford
  from Michigan
  (1974–1977)
• 
  Representative
  Guy Vander Jagt
  from Michigan
  (1966–1993)
• 
  Representative
  Jack Kemp
  from New York
  (1971–1989)
• 
  Senator
  Richard Lugar
  from Indiana
  (1977–2013)
• 
  Senator
  Paul Laxalt
  from Nevada
  (1974–1987)
• 
  Governor
  Al Quie
  from Minnesota
  (1979–1983)