Has a Vice President Ever Become President?

Yes, numerous vice presidents have gone on to become president of the United States. This can occur in two primary ways: through presidential succession or by being elected to the office.

The most common path for a vice president to become president is through succession, often due to the death or resignation of the sitting president. This crucial process ensures continuity of government and is outlined in the U.S. Constitution, further clarified by the 25th Amendment.

Vice Presidents Who Succeeded to the Presidency

Historically, nine vice presidents have ascended to the presidency through succession:

• John Tyler (succeeded William Henry Harrison, 1841)
• Millard Fillmore (succeeded Zachary Taylor, 1850)
• Andrew Johnson (succeeded Abraham Lincoln, 1865)
• Chester A. Arthur (succeeded James A. Garfield, 1881)
• Theodore Roosevelt (succeeded William McKinley, 1901)
• Calvin Coolidge (succeeded Warren G. Harding, 1923)
• Harry S. Truman (succeeded Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1945)
• Lyndon B. Johnson (succeeded John F. Kennedy, 1963)
• Gerald Ford (succeeded Richard Nixon, 1974)

Vice Presidents Elected to the Presidency

Additionally, several individuals who have served as vice president have later successfully run for and won the presidency. This group includes both sitting vice presidents who won the election immediately following their vice presidency and former vice presidents who later returned to win the nation's highest office.

Here is a list of vice presidents who were elected president:

The dual pathways by which a vice president can become president highlight the strategic importance of the vice presidency within the American political system, underscoring its role in both the line of succession and as a potential stepping stone to the nation's highest office.