1974 United States vice presidential confirmation

Summary

On August 9, 1974, President Richard Nixon (a Republican) was forced to resign amid the Watergate scandal. Vice President Gerald Ford ascended to the presidency, leaving the office of vice president vacant. Under the terms of the 25th Amendment, a vice presidential vacancy is filled when the president nominates a candidate who is confirmed by both houses of Congress, which were controlled by the Democrats.

1974 United States vice presidential confirmation

← 1973 December 10, 1974 (1974-12-10) (Senate)
December 19, 1974 (1974-12-19) (House)

100 and 435 members of the Senate and House
Majority of both Senate and House votes needed to win
 
Nominee Nelson Rockefeller
Party Republican
Home state New York
Electoral vote 90 (Senate)
287 (House)
Percentage 92.8% (Senate)
69.2% (House)

Vice President before election

Gerald Ford

Confirmed Vice President

Nelson Rockefeller

On August 20, 1974, Ford announced his nomination of former New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller to fill the vacancy.[1] Ford also considered picking Tennessee Senator Howard Baker[2] and former Republican National Committee Chairman George H. W. Bush.[3] Rockefeller was generally considered to be a liberal Republican, and Ford decided that picking Rockefeller would help his candidacy gain support in the 1976 presidential election.[3] Rockefeller's nomination dismayed many conservatives; many conservative Democrats and Republicans opposed the nomination. This was especially true among members of the U.S. House of Representatives. However, some House opponents were liberal Democrats who looked askance at some minor improprieties disclosed during Rockefeller's confirmation hearings and whose partisanship had been hardened due to the leftover effects from the political and psychological trauma of Watergate.

The confirmation hearings for Rockefeller lasted for months, but Rockefeller was sworn in as the 41st vice president of the United States on December 19, 1974.[3] Due to the pressure on Ford by the party hardliners, Rockefeller was ultimately passed over for the 1976 ticket, and Ford instead chose Kansas Senator Bob Dole as his running mate. Ford, however, regretted this move later.[3]

Confirmation votes edit

By a vote of 90 to 7 on December 10, 1974, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Nelson Rockefeller.[4] Among those opposing and voting against Rockefeller's confirmation were 3 conservative Republicans: Barry Goldwater, Jesse Helms, and William L. Scott.[5] The following week, on December 19, the House of Representatives gave its approval, 287 to 128.[6]

1974 U.S. Senate
Vice presidential
confirmation vote:
Party Total votes
Democratic Republican Conservative Independent
Yes 52 36 1 1 90  (92.8%)
No 04 03 00 00 7  (7.2%)
Result: Confirmed
Roll call vote on the nomination
Senator Party State Vote
James Abourezk
D
South Dakota Nay
George Aiken
R
Vermont Yea
James Allen
D
Alabama Yea
Howard Baker
R
Tennessee Yea
Dewey Bartlett
R
Oklahoma Yea
Birch Bayh
D
Indiana Nay
John Glenn Beall
R
Maryland Yea
Henry Bellmon
R
Oklahoma No vote
Wallace Bennett
R
Utah Yea
Lloyd Bentsen
D
Texas Yea
Alan Bible
D
Nevada Yea
Joe Biden
D
Delaware Yea
Bill Brock
R
Tennessee Yea
Edward Brooke
R
Massachusetts Yea
James L. Buckley
C
New York Yea
Quentin Burdick
D
North Dakota Yea
Harry F. Byrd
I
Virginia Yea
Robert Byrd
D
West Virginia Yea
Howard Cannon
D
Nevada Yea
Clifford Case
R
New Jersey Yea
Lawton Chiles
D
Florida Yea
Frank Church
D
Idaho Yea
Dick Clark
D
Iowa Yea
Marlow Cook
R
Kentucky Yea
Norris Cotton
R
New Hampshire Yea
Alan Cranston
D
California Yea
Carl Curtis
R
Nebraska Yea
Bob Dole
R
Kansas Yea
Pete Domenici
R
New Mexico Yea
Peter Dominick
R
Colorado Present
Thomas Eagleton
D
Missouri Yea
James Eastland
D
Mississippi Yea
Sam Ervin
D
North Carolina Yea
Paul Fannin
R
Arizona Yea
Hiram Fong
R
Hawaii Yea
J. William Fulbright
D
Arkansas Yea
Barry Goldwater
R
Arizona Nay
Mike Gravel
D
Alaska Yea
Robert P. Griffin
R
Michigan Yea
Edward Gurney
R
Florida Yea
Clifford Hansen
R
Wyoming Yea
Philip Hart
D
Michigan Yea
Vance Hartke
D
Indiana Yea
Floyd Haskell
D
Colorado Yea
Mark Hatfield
R
Oregon Yea
William Hathaway
D
Maine Yea
Jesse Helms
R
North Carolina Nay
Fritz Hollings
D
South Carolina Yea
Roman Hruska
R
Nebraska Yea
Walter Dee Huddleston
D
Kentucky Yea
Harold Hughes
D
Iowa Yea
Hubert Humphrey
D
Minnesota Yea
Daniel Inouye
D
Hawaii Yea
Henry M. Jackson
D
Washington Yea
Jacob Javits
R
New York Yea
J. Bennett Johnston
D
Louisiana Yea
Ted Kennedy
D
Massachusetts Yea
Russell B. Long
D
Louisiana Yea
Warren Magnuson
D
Washington Yea
Mike Mansfield
D
Montana No vote
Charles Mathias
R
Maryland Yea
John L. McClellan
D
Arkansas Yea
James A. McClure
R
Idaho Yea
Gale McGee
D
Wyoming Yea
George McGovern
D
South Dakota Yea
Thomas J. McIntyre
D
New Hampshire Yea
Lee Metcalf
D
Montana Yea
Howard Metzenbaum
D
Ohio Nay
Walter Mondale
D
Minnesota Yea
Joseph Montoya
D
New Mexico Yea
Frank Moss
D
Utah Yea
Edmund Muskie
D
Maine Yea
Gaylord Nelson
D
Wisconsin Nay
Sam Nunn
D
Georgia Yea
Bob Packwood
R
Oregon Yea
John Pastore
D
Rhode Island Yea
James B. Pearson
R
Kansas Yea
Claiborne Pell
D
Rhode Island Yea
Charles H. Percy
R
Illinois Yea
William Proxmire
D
Wisconsin Yea
Jennings Randolph
D
West Virginia Yea
Abraham Ribicoff
D
Connecticut Yea
William Roth
R
Delaware Yea
Richard Schweiker
R
Pennsylvania Yea
Hugh Scott
R
Pennsylvania Yea
William L. Scott
R
Virginia Nay
John Sparkman
D
Alabama Yea
Robert Stafford
R
Vermont Yea
John C. Stennis
D
Mississippi Yea
Ted Stevens
R
Alaska Yea
Adlai Stevenson
D
Illinois Yea
Stuart Symington
D
Missouri Yea
Robert A. Taft
R
Ohio Yea
Herman Talmadge
D
Georgia Yea
Strom Thurmond
R
South Carolina Yea
John Tower
R
Texas Yea
John V. Tunney
D
California Yea
Lowell Weicker
R
Connecticut Yea
Harrison A. Williams
D
New Jersey Yea
Milton Young
R
North Dakota Yea
1974 U.S. House
Vice presidential
confirmation vote:
Party Total votes
Democratic Republican
Yes 134 153 287  (69.2%)
No 098 030 128  (30.8%)
Result: Confirmed

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Glass, Andrew (December 19, 2012). "Rockefeller sworn in as vice president, Dec. 19, 1974". Politico. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  2. ^ Kincade, Vance (2000). Heirs Apparent: Solving the Vice Presidential Dilemma. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 35. ISBN 9780275968663. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d "Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, 41st Vice President (1974–1977)". United States Senate. Retrieved October 5, 2015.
  4. ^ "To confirm the nomination of Nelson A. Rockefeller to be Vice-President of the U.S." govtrack.us. United States Senate. December 10, 1974. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  5. ^ Glass, Andrew (December 19, 2017). "Rockefeller sworn in as vice president, Dec. 19, 1974". Politico. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  6. ^ "To agree to H.Res. 1511, confirming Nelson A. Rockefeller as Vice President of the United States". govtrack.us. United States House of Representatives. December 19, 1974. Retrieved February 12, 2019.

External links edit

  • Nelson Rockefeller Confirmation Hearings transcript, Ron Nessen Papers at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library.
  • Rockefeller's Opening Statement to Senate Rules Committee, YouTube.
  • United States Congress. "1974 United States vice presidential confirmation (id: R000363)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
  • Rockefeller Archive Center: Nelson Rockefeller, Contains details on the collection of public and private papers available to researchers at the center.