When running mates mattered

[FerrisBueller86]

Can anyone remember the last time a running mate actually helped the ticket win electoral votes?  I don't think that has happened since Mondale helped Carter in the Midwest.

Cheney didn't help Bush win Wyoming or any other states.  He's a very polarizing figure, but unlike Bush, he wouldn't be able to win if he were at the top of the ticket.

Edwards sounded great and would have had populist appeal had he been at the top of the ticket, but he didn't help Kerry in North Carolina (which went for Bush by 13 percentage points).

Who is Lieberman's core constituency?  Is ANYONE fired up by him?  He's experienced, but he's boring.  I can't think of a single state that Gore couldn't have won without him.

Jack Kemp sounded great.  Even though I disagree with his conservative views and his supply-side economics, I find it hard to object to his sincerity, optimism, and commitment to social welfare issues.  But he didn't help Dole in either New York or California.  Come to think of it, I don't think Kemp managed to fire up anyone.  It would be ironic if I liked Kemp better than most people even though I'm squarely on the opposite side of the political spectrum and never even considered voting for the Dole-Kemp ticket.  (But I'd MUCH rather have Dole-Kemp in office now than Bush-Cheney, even if Dole is grumpy.)

Did Al Gore help Clinton win any states?  Clinton alone had Southern support, and I'm not sure if Gore added to it.  Clinton could have won a few more western states had he chosen a running mate from a Rocky Mountain state or Great Plains state.

I don't think Dan Quayle helped Bush senior win any states that Bush couldn't win on his own.

Reagan won with such overwhelming landslides that his running mate didn't matter.  However, Bush's reputation as a moderate probably helped him in the Northeast.

Mondale helped Carter in the Midwest.  He solidified Minnesota for Carter, helped him win Ohio, and made Iowa competitive (though Ford narrowly carried it).

[FerrisBueller86]

< Liebermann helped Gore in Florida, though not enough to win. >

Or maybe Gore did win. 

Seriously, how did Lieberman help Gore in Florida?  I know that Florida has a large number of Jewish, but I thought most Jewish voters are already Democratic.  Kerry was Catholic, but exit polls say he narrowly lost against Bush among Catholics.

< The choice of Gore for Clinton might have helped Clinton in Tennessee, Arkansas and Georgia.  The all south ticket probably generated excellent moral support in the South in 1992. >
Are you sure that Clinton couldn't have won these states without Gore?