List of vice presidents of the United States by other offices held

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This is a list of vice presidents of the United States by other offices (either elected or appointive) held, either before or after service as the vice president.

Federal government

Executive branch

President

President Year(s) served Notes
John Adams 1797–1801 First sitting vice president elected president
Thomas Jefferson 1801–1809 Second sitting vice president elected president
Martin Van Buren 1837–1841 Third sitting vice president elected president
John Tyler 1841–1845 Became president after Harrison's death, first vice president to become president upon the death of his predecessor
Millard Fillmore 1850–1853 Became president after Taylor's death
Andrew Johnson 1865–1869 Became president after Lincoln's assassination
Chester A. Arthur 1881–1885 Became president after Garfield's assassination
Theodore Roosevelt 1901–1909 Became president after McKinley's assassination; later elected to own term.
Calvin Coolidge 1923–1929 Became president after Harding's death; later elected to own term.
Harry S. Truman 1945–1953 Became president after Roosevelt's death; later elected to own term.
Lyndon B. Johnson 1963–1969 Became president after Kennedy's assassination; later elected to own term.
Richard Nixon 1969–1974 First former vice president elected president
Gerald Ford 1974–1977 Became president after Nixon's resignation; had been appointed vice president after Agnew's resignation.
George H. W. Bush 1989–1993 Fourth sitting vice president elected president
Joe Biden 2021–Incumbent Second former vice president elected president

Cabinet secretaries

Secretary Office President served under Year(s) served Notes
Thomas Jefferson Secretary of State George Washington 1790–1793
John C. Calhoun Secretary of War James Monroe 1817–1825
Secretary of State John Tyler 1844–1845 Served after being vice president
Martin Van Buren Secretary of State Andrew Jackson 1829–1831
Henry A. Wallace Secretary of Agriculture Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933–1940
Secretary of Commerce 1945–1946 Served after being vice president
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Harry S. Truman
Dick Cheney Chief of Staff Gerald Ford 1975–1977
Secretary of Defense George H. W. Bush 1989–1993

Ambassadors

Vice President Position President served under Year(s) served Notes
John Adams Minister to the Netherlands Continental Congress 1782–1788
Minister to Britain Continental Congress 1785–1788
Thomas Jefferson Minister Plenipotentiary to France Continental Congress 1785–1789
Martin Van Buren Minister to Britain Andrew Jackson 1831–1832
George M. Dallas Minister to Russia Martin Van Buren 1837–1839
Minister to Britain James Buchanan 1856–1861 Served after being vice president
William R. King Minister to France James K. Polk 1844–1846
Hannibal Hamlin Ambassador to Spain James A. Garfield 1881–1883 Served after being vice president
Levi P. Morton Minister Plenipotentiary to France James A. Garfield 1881–1885
Chester A. Arthur
Charles G. Dawes United States Ambassador to Britain Herbert Hoover 1929–1931 Served after being vice president
Walter Mondale United States Ambassador to Japan Bill Clinton 1993–1996 Served after being vice president
George H. W. Bush Ambassador to the United Nations Richard Nixon 1971–1973
Chief of the U.S. Liaison Office in Beijing Gerald R. Ford 1974–1975 Head of U.S. mission in China

Other federal appointees

Vice President Office President appointed by Year(s) served
Hannibal Hamlin Collector of the Port of Boston Andrew Johnson 1865–1866 (after vice presidency)
Chester A. Arthur Collector of the Port of New York Ulysses S. Grant 1871–1878
Adlai Stevenson I First Assistant United States Postmaster General Grover Cleveland 1885–1889
Theodore Roosevelt Member, United States Civil Service Commission Benjamin Harrison 1889–1895
Assistant Secretary of the Navy William McKinley 1897–1898
Thomas R. Marshall Member, Lincoln Memorial Commission Warren G. Harding 1921–1923 (after vice presidency)
Chairman, Federal Coal Commission Warren G. Harding 1922–1923 (after vice presidency)
Charles G. Dawes Comptroller of the Currency William McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt
1898–1901
Director of the Bureau of the Budget Warren G. Harding 1921–1922
Nelson Rockefeller Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs Franklin D. Roosevelt 1940–1944
Assistant Secretary of State for American Republic Affairs Franklin D. Roosevelt 1944–1945
Chairman of the International Development Advisory Board Harry S. Truman 1950–1953
Under Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare Dwight D. Eisenhower 1953–1954
Special Assistant to the President for Foreign Affairs Dwight D. Eisenhower 1954–1956
George H. W. Bush Director of Central Intelligence Gerald Ford 1976–1977

Judicial branch

No vice presidents have yet served in the judicial branch.

Legislative branch

Senators

State Vice President Year(s) served Notes
Alabama William R. King 1819–1844 President pro tempore, 1836-1841
1848–1852 President pro tempore, 1850-1852. Resigned to become vice president
California Richard Nixon 1950–1953 Resigned to become vice president
Kamala Harris 2017–2021 Resigned to become vice president
Delaware Joe Biden 1973–2009 Resigned to become vice president
Indiana Thomas A. Hendricks 1863–1869
Charles W. Fairbanks 1897–1905 Resigned to become vice president
Dan Quayle 1981–1989 Resigned to become vice president
Kansas Charles Curtis 1907–1913 President pro tempore, 1911
1915–1929 Republican Whip, 1915–1924. Republican leader, 1924–1929. Resigned to become vice president.
Kentucky Richard Mentor Johnson 1819–1829
John C. Breckinridge 1861 Served after being vice president
Alben W. Barkley 1927–1949 Resigned to become vice president
1955–1956 Served after being vice president. Died in office
Maine Hannibal Hamlin 1848–1861 Resigned to become vice president
1869–1881 Served after being vice president
Massachusetts Henry Wilson 1855–1873 Resigned to become vice president
Minnesota Hubert Humphrey 1949–1964 Resigned to become vice president
1971–1978 Served after being vice president. Died in office
Walter Mondale 1964–1976 Resigned to become vice president
Missouri Harry S. Truman 1935–1945 Resigned to become vice president
New York Aaron Burr 1791–1797
Martin Van Buren 1821–1828
Pennsylvania George M. Dallas 1831–1833
South Carolina John C. Calhoun 1832–1843 Served after being vice president
1845–1850 Served after being vice president. Died in office
Tennessee Andrew Johnson 1857–1862
1875 Served after being vice president. Died in office
Al Gore 1985–1993 Resigned to become vice president
Texas Lyndon B. Johnson 1949–1961 Senate minority leader 1953–1955
Senate majority leader 1955–1961. Resigned to become vice president
Virginia John Tyler 1827–1836 President pro tempore, 1835

A number of future and former vice presidents served together while in the Senate:

  • King served with R. Johnson (1819–1829), Van Buren (1821–1828), Tyler (1827–1836), Dallas (1831–1833), Calhoun (1832–1843, 1848–1850) and Hamlin (1848–1852). Hamlin later served with Wilson (1855–1861; 1869–1873) and A. Johnson (1857–1861; 1875). Wilson and A. Johnson, during their continued service with each other (1861–1862), also served with Breckinridge (1861). Wilson also served with Hendricks (1863–1869).
  • Curtis served with Barkley (1927–1929). Barkley later served with Truman (1935–1945), Humphrey (1955–1956) and L. Johnson (1955–1956). Humphrey and L. Johnson, who had served together before and after their service with Barkley (1949–1961), also served with Nixon (1950–1953). Humphrey would be succeeded by Mondale and would later serve with him (1971–1976) and Biden (1973–1978). Biden later served with Quayle (1981–1989) and Gore (1985–1993).

Members of the House of Representatives

State Vice President Year(s) served Notes
California Richard Nixon 1947–1950
Illinois Adlai Stevenson 1875–1877
1879–1881
Indiana Schuyler Colfax 1855–1869 Served as speaker of the House
Thomas A. Hendricks 1851–1855
Dan Quayle 1977–1981
Mike Pence 2001–2013
Kansas Charles Curtis 1893–1907
Kentucky Richard M. Johnson 1806–1819
1829–1837
John C. Breckinridge 1851–1855
Alben W. Barkley 1913–1927
Maine Hannibal Hamlin 1843–1847
Massachusetts Elbridge Gerry 1789–1793
Michigan Gerald Ford 1949–1973 House minority leader (1965–1973)
New York Millard Fillmore 1833–1835
1837–1843
William Wheeler 1861–1863
1869–1877
Levi P. Morton 1879–1881
James S. Sherman 1887–1891
1893–1909
North Carolina William R. King 1811–1816
South Carolina John C. Calhoun 1811–1817
Tennessee Andrew Johnson 1843–1853
Al Gore 1977–1985
Texas John Nance Garner 1903–1933 Served as speaker of the House
Lyndon B. Johnson 1937–1949
George H. W. Bush 1967–1971
Virginia John Tyler 1816–1821
Wyoming Dick Cheney 1979–1989 Republican whip, 1989

A number of future vice presidents served in the House together:

Continental Congress

Vice President State Year(s) served
John Adams Massachusetts 1774–1778
Thomas Jefferson Virginia 1775–1776
1783–1784
Elbridge Gerry Massachusetts 1776–1780

State government

Governors

State Vice President Year(s) served Notes
Indiana Thomas A. Hendricks 1873–1877
Thomas R. Marshall 1909–1913
Mike Pence 2013–2017
Maine Hannibal Hamlin 1857
Massachusetts Elbridge Gerry 1810–1812
Calvin Coolidge 1919–1921
Maryland Spiro Agnew 1967–1969 Resigned to become vice president
New York George Clinton 1777–1795
1801–1804
Daniel D. Tompkins 1807–1817 Resigned to become vice president
Martin Van Buren 1829
Levi P. Morton 1895–1896 Served after being vice president
Theodore Roosevelt 1899–1900
Nelson Rockefeller 1959–1973
Tennessee Andrew Johnson 1853–1857
1862–1865 Military governor
Virginia Thomas Jefferson 1779–1781
John Tyler 1825–1827

State legislators

See below for information about pre-1776 colonial offices held.
State legislature Vice President Year(s)served Notes
Indiana House of Representatives Thomas A. Hendricks 1849 Speaker of the House 1849
Kentucky House of Representatives Richard M. Johnson 1804–1806; 1850 (after vice presidency) Only vice president to serve in a state legislature after his vice presidency. Died in office
John C. Breckinridge 1849–1851
Maine House of Representatives Hannibal Hamlin 1836–1841 Speaker of the House, 1837–1838, 1839–1840
Massachusetts House of Representatives Henry Wilson 1841–1842
Calvin Coolidge 1907–1909
Massachusetts Senate Henry Wilson 1845–1847, 1851–1853 President of the Senate, 1851–1853
Calvin Coolidge 1912–1915 President of the Senate, 1914–1915
New York Senate Martin Van Buren 1812–1820
William A. Wheeler 1858–1859
New Jersey General Assembly Garret Hobart 1873–1876 Speaker of the House 1874
New Jersey Senate Garret Hobart 1876–1882 President of the Senate 1881–1882
New York State Assembly Aaron Burr 1784–1785
1798–1799
George Clinton 1800–1801
Millard Fillmore 1829–1831
William A. Wheeler 1850–1851
Theodore Roosevelt 1882–1884 Minority leader 1883
Texas House of Representatives John Nance Garner 1899–1903
Tennessee House of Representatives Andrew Johnson 1835–1837
Tennessee Senate Andrew Johnson 1841–1843
Virginia House of Delegates Thomas Jefferson 1776–1779
John Tyler 1811–1816
1823–1825

Other statewide offices

Vice President Office and jurisdiction Year(s) served
Aaron Burr Attorney General of New York 1789–1791
Martin Van Buren Attorney General of New York 1815–1819
George M. Dallas Attorney General of Pennsylvania 1833–1835
Millard Fillmore New York State Comptroller 1848–1849
Calvin Coolidge Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts 1916–1919
Walter Mondale Attorney General of Minnesota 1960–1964
Kamala Harris Attorney General of California 2011–2017

Municipal government

Vice President Office and jurisdiction Year(s) served
Martin Van Buren Surrogate of Columbia County, New York 1808–1812
George M. Dallas Mayor of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1828–1829
Andrew Johnson Alderman, Greeneville, Tennessee 1828–1830
Mayor of Greeneville, Tennessee 1830–1833
William A. Wheeler District Attorney; Franklin County, New York 1846–1849
Adlai Stevenson I State's Attorney; Woodford County, Illinois 1859–1869
James S. Sherman Mayor of Utica, New York 1884–1885
Theodore Roosevelt President of the New York Board of Police Commissioners 1895–1897
Calvin Coolidge Mayor of Northampton, Massachusetts 1910–1911
John Nance Garner County Judge of Uvalde County, Texas 1893–1896
Harry S. Truman Eastern District Judge, Jackson County, Missouri 1923–1925
Presiding Judge, Jackson County, Missouri 1927–1935
Alben W. Barkley District Attorney of McCracken County, Kentucky 1906–1913
Hubert H. Humphrey Mayor of Minneapolis, Minnesota 1945–1948
Spiro Agnew Member, Baltimore County, Maryland Zoning Board of Appeals 1956–1960
Chairman, Baltimore County, Maryland Zoning Board of Appeals 1958–1960
County Executive, Baltimore County, Maryland 1962–1966
Joe Biden Member of the New Castle County, Delaware County Council 1971–1973
Kamala Harris District Attorney of San Francisco 2004–2011

Foreign governments

Colonial, Confederate legislators, and Confederate Cabinet

Legislature Vice President Year(s) served Notes
Confederate Cabinet John C. Breckinridge 1865 Confederate States Secretary of War, served after being vice president
Confederate Congress John Tyler 1861–1862 Under the Confederate States of America during the Civil War, served after being vice president and president.
Massachusetts House of Representatives Elbridge Gerry 1772–1775 Under the Kingdom of Great Britain before 1776.
John Adams 1768–1774
Virginia House of Burgesses Thomas Jefferson 1769–1774

Lost races

Other than immediate re-election to the vice presidency

Vice President Office and jurisdiction Year Notes
John Adams President of the United States 1800 Lost re-election to Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson President of the United States 1796 Lost to John Adams. Elected president in 1800 and re-elected in 1804
Aaron Burr Governor of New York 1804 Lost to Morgan Lewis
Elbridge Gerry Governor of Massachusetts 1788
1800
1801
1802
1803
1812
Lost to John Hancock in 1788 and Caleb Strong in 1800, 1801, 1802, 1803, and 1812. Won in 1810 and 1811
Daniel D. Tompkins Governor of New York 1820 Lost to DeWitt Clinton. Won in 1807, 1810, 1813, and 1816.
Martin Van Buren President of the United States 1840
1848
Lost re-election to William Henry Harrison in 1840. Ran on Free Soil Ticket 1848; came in third place behind Zachary Taylor and Lewis Cass
Democratic nomination for
President of the United States
1844 Placed in distant third behind James K. Polk and Lewis Cass
Richard Mentor Johnson United States Senator from Kentucky 1842 Lost to John J. Crittenden
Democratic nomination for
President of the United States
1844 Lost to James K. Polk
John Tyler Vice President of the United States 1836 Lost to Richard Mentor Johnson. Later won in 1840.
George M. Dallas Democratic nomination for
President of the United States
1848 Lost to Lewis Cass
Millard Fillmore United States Senator from New York 1843 Lost to Silas Wright
Governor of New York 1844 Lost to Silas Wright
Whig nomination for
Vice President of the United States
1844 Lost to Theodore Frelinghuysen. Later won in 1848.
Whig nomination for
President of the United States
1852 Lost to Winfield Scott
President of the United States 1856 Ran on Whig and Know-Nothing tickets 1856; came in third place behind James Buchanan and John C. Fremont
John C. Breckinridge President of the United States 1860 Ran as Southern Democrat 1860; lost to Abraham Lincoln
Andrew Johnson Democratic nomination for
President of the United States
1860
1868
Lost to Stephen A. Douglas in 1860 and Horatio Seymour in 1868
United States Senator from Tennessee 1869 Lost to Henry Cooper
United States Representative 1872 Came in third behind Horace Maynard and Benjamin F. Cheatham
Henry Wilson Republican nomination for
Vice President of the United States
1868 Lost to Schuyler Colfax. Later won in 1872.
William A. Wheeler Republican nomination for
President of the United States
1876 Lost to Rutherford B. Hayes. Later made Hayes' running mate and elected vice president
Thomas A. Hendricks Governor of Indiana 1860
1868
Lost to Henry S. Lane in 1860 and Conrad Baker in 1868. Later elected in 1872
Democratic nomination for
President of the United States
1876, 1880, 1884 Lost to Samuel J. Tilden in 1876, Winfield Scott Hancock in 1880 and Grover Cleveland in 1884. Later made Tilden's running mate in 1876 and Cleveland's running mate in 1884
Vice President of the United States 1876 Lost to William A. Wheeler. Later elected in 1884
Levi P. Morton Republican nomination for
President of the United States
1896 Lost to William McKinley
Adlai Stevenson Vice President of the United States 1900 Lost to Theodore Roosevelt
Governor of Illinois 1908 Lost to Charles S. Deneen
Garret Hobart United States Senator from New Jersey 1883 Lost to John R. McPherson. At the time Senators were chosen by the state legislature.
Theodore Roosevelt Mayor of New York City 1886 Placed in distant third behind Abram S. Hewitt and Henry George
Republican nomination for
President of the United States
1912 Lost to William Howard Taft
President of the United States 1912 Placed distant second to Woodrow Wilson. Candidate of the Progressive Party. Only third-party candidate to place second in an election.
Charles W. Fairbanks United States Senator from Indiana 1893 Lost to David Turpie. At the time Senators were chosen by the state legislature. Later elected in 1897.
Republican nomination for
President of the United States
1908, 1916 Lost to William Howard Taft in 1908 and Charles Evans Hughes in 1916. Later made Hughes's running mate.
Vice President of the United States 1916 Lost to Thomas R. Marshall
Thomas R. Marshall Democratic nomination for
President of the United States
1912 Lost to Woodrow Wilson. Later made Wilson's running mate and elected vice president
Charles G. Dawes United States Senator from Illinois 1902 Lost to Albert J. Hopkins. At the time Senators were chosen by the state legislature
Charles Curtis Republican nomination for
President of the United States
1928 Lost to Herbert Hoover. Later chosen as Hoover's running mate and elected vice president
John Nance Garner Democratic nomination for
President of the United States
1932, 1940 Lost to Franklin D. Roosevelt both times. In 1932, he was made Roosevelt's running mate and elected vice president.
Henry A. Wallace President of the United States 1948 Ran on the Progressive Party ticket 1948. Came in fourth behind Harry S. Truman, Thomas E. Dewey, and Strom Thurmond.
Alben W. Barkley Democratic nomination for
President of the United States
1952 Lost to Adlai Stevenson II
Richard Nixon President of the United States 1960 Lost to John F. Kennedy. Elected president in 1968 and re-elected in 1972
Governor of California 1962 Lost to Pat Brown by nearly 300,000 votes; in his concession speech, he lashed out at the media, saying "...you don't have Nixon to kick around any more, because, gentlemen, this is my last press conference."
Lyndon B. Johnson United States Senator from Texas 1941 Lost to W. Lee O'Daniel. Later elected Senator in 1948
Democratic nomination for
President of the United States
1960 Placed second to John F. Kennedy after failing to contest any state primaries. Later chosen as Kennedy's running mate and elected vice president. He assumed the presidency upon Kennedy's assassination in 1963. He subsequently won the Democratic nomination (and the presidency) in 1964.
Hubert H. Humphrey Democratic nomination for
Vice President of the United States
1956 Lost to Estes Kefauver. Later won in 1964.
Democratic nomination for
President of the United States
1960 1972 Lost to John F. Kennedy in 1960 and George McGovern in 1972. Won the Democratic Party's presidential nomination in 1968.
President of the United States 1968 Lost to Richard Nixon.
Spiro Agnew Maryland Circuit Court Judge 1960
Gerald Ford President of the United States 1976 Lost to Jimmy Carter
Nelson Rockefeller Republican nomination for
President of the United States
1960, 1964, 1968 Lost to Richard Nixon in 1960 and 1968 and Barry Goldwater in 1964
Walter Mondale President of the United States 1984 Lost to Ronald Reagan.
United States Senator from Minnesota 2002 Replaced Senator Paul Wellstone on the ballot after his death in a plane crash. Lost to Norm Coleman
George H. W. Bush United States Senator from Texas 1964
1970
Lost to Ralph Yarborough in 1964 and Lloyd Bentsen in 1970
Republican nomination for
President of the United States
1980 Lost to Ronald Reagan. Later chosen as Reagan's running mate and elected vice president. Elected president in 1988 but lost re-election in 1992 to Bill Clinton
President of the United States 1992 Lost re-election to Bill Clinton
Dan Quayle Republican nomination for
President of the United States
2000 Lost to George W. Bush
Albert A. Gore Democratic nomination for
President of the United States
1988 Lost to Michael Dukakis. Later won Democratic nomination in 2000.
President of the United States 2000 Lost to George W. Bush
Joe Biden Democratic nomination for
President of the United States
1988, 2008 Lost to Michael Dukakis in 1988 and Barack Obama in 2008. Later chosen as Obama's running mate in 2008 and elected vice president. Elected president in 2020.
Mike Pence United States Representative 1988
1990
Lost to Philip Sharp both times. Later elected in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010.
Republican nomination for
President of the United States
2024 Lost to Donald Trump
Kamala Harris Democratic nomination for
President of the United States
2020 Lost to Joe Biden. Later chosen as Biden's running mate in 2020 and elected vice president.

See also