2004 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection

On March 2, 2004, Massachusetts Senator John Kerry became the presumptive Democratic nominee for president in the 2004 Presidential Election.^[1] Kerry selected North Carolina Senator John Edwards as his running mate on July 6, 2004.^[2] The Kerry–Edwards ticket was ultimately defeated by the Bush–Cheney ticket in the general election. Edwards had already chose not to run for a second term, however, he returned to the Senate following the campaign but left politics less than two months later.

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2004 Democratic vice presidential nomination

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July 6, 2004 (2004-07-06)

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Nominee	John Edwards
Home state	North Carolina

Previous Vice Presidential nominee

Joe Lieberman

Vice Presidential nominee

John Edwards

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Selection process

The vice presidential selection process was led by James Johnson, former chief executive officer of Fannie Mae and Chairman of Walter Mondale's 1984 Presidential Campaign. Kerry, who had been considered by Al Gore in 2000 as a potential running mate, sought to ensure that the selection process was discreet. To evade reporters, Kerry interviewed Edwards at former Secretary of State Madeline Albright's home in Washington D.C.^[3]^[4] Alyssa Mastromonaco, who would later serve as White House Deputy Chief of Staff under President Barack Obama, organized Kerry's meetings with the candidates.^[5]

Reported shortlist

Pundits and those close to the Kerry campaign indicated that candidates narrowed to five potential choices.^[6]

Retired Army General and 2004 presidential candidate
Wesley Clark
from Arkansas
Senator and 2004 presidential candidate
John Edwards
from North Carolina
(1999–2005)
Representative and 2004 presidential candidate
Dick Gephardt
from Missouri
(1977–2005)
Senator and 2004 presidential candidate
Bob Graham
from Florida
(1987–2005)
Governor
Tom Vilsack
of Iowa
(1999–2007)

Announcement

The night before the campaign's announcement of the selection of Edwards, the information was leaked by an airport worker who saw Edwards's name being painted on Kerry's plane. On July 6, the Kerry campaign sent an e-mail message to his supporters at about 8:15 a.m. EDT informing them of the choice, and made the formal announcement at 9 a.m. EDT in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.^[7]