I’m trying to figure out which person has been nominated for (not necessarily elected) President or Vice President the most times (i.e. appeared on the most presidential tickets). The best I can come up with is Nixon: twice as Ike’s VP, unsuccessful bid for President in '60, and successful presidential bids in '68 and '72. Is there anyone that has more?
Eugene Debs has at least five nominations, assuming you’re not restricting the OP to the two major parties.
Norman Thomas was nominated six times by the Socialist Party. I believe that’s the most anyone has been nominated.
FDR was nominated five times: once as VP in 1920, four times for president.
Henry Clay, like Norman Thomas, ran six times unsuccessfully.
Nixon and FDR seem to hold the record for successful candidates, each having run five times and won four, an 80% rate.
FDR:
1920 - VP - lost
1932 - Pres - won
1936 - Pres - won
1940 - Pres - won
1944 - Pres - won
Nixon:
1952 - VP - won
1956 - VP - won
1960 - Pres - lost
1968 - Pres - won
1972 - Pres - won
AFAICT, no 19th Century figure matched this tied record.
But he only won three nominations–in 1824, 1832, and 1844. (Technically in 1824 he didn’t even win a nomination, but he ran as one of four major candidates in a free-lance field.)
If we count just running for president, Harold Stassen was an official candidate for the Republican presidential nomination nine times.
Let’s not, please.
I’m sure there are plenty of nutty individuals who’ve run for President many, many times.
(Not saying that Harold Stassen was nutty. I’ve met him, and he seemed a real nice, smart man. Much preferable to any Republican President or Presidential nominee that I can remember.)