Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidate
Unlike his son, Jerry, Pat Brown never seriously ran for President of the United States, but he frequently was California's "favorite son." At the quadrennial American national political party conventions, a state delegation sometimes nominates and votes for a candidate from the state, or less often from the state's region, who is not a viable candidate. The technique allows state leaders to negotiate with leading candidates in exchange for the delegation's support. The technique was widely used in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Since nationwide campaigns by candidates and binding primary elections have replaced brokered conventions, the technique has fallen out of use.
During the 1952 Democratic primaries Brown placed distant second to Estes Kefauver in total votes (65.04% to 9.97%), losing California to Kefauver.
During Governor Brown's first term (1959 – 1963), the national census confirmed that California had become the nation's most populous state. Brown's political popularity, multiplied by the state's population, would contribute to two national Presidential victories, when he pledged his votes to the national candidates, (Kennedy in 1960, and Johnson in 1964), at the Democratic conventions.
As governor, Brown was again California's favorite son in 1960, winning his home state with a large margin to his only opponent George H. McLain. Brown joined favorite sons Ohio's Albert S. Porter, Governor Michael DiSalle and Florida Senator George Smathers.
More serious primary candidates were Lyndon B. Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Adlai Stevenson II and Stuart Symington in 1960, with the nomination going to John F. Kennedy. Brown ran only in the California state primary. Yet his popularity with the largest state electorate in the nation gave him second place in the national Democratic primary vote, just behind Kennedy. Thus he repeated his 1952 state and national rankings. However, only one delegate cast his vote for Brown for President at the 1960 Democratic National Convention.
During the 1964 primaries, by running again only in California, the nation's largest state electorate vote led Brown to place first this time in both the California and the Democratic national primary total, besting the eventual nominee. Brown, as well as over a dozen other candidates except George Wallace, was a stalking horse for incumbent Lyndon B. Johnson, whose nomination was assured.
As for the vice presidency, he briefly sought nomination at the 1956 Democratic National Convention, winning one vote.
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