United States vice presidential selection, 1973 Gerald Ford of Michigan, who was popular among the members of Congress and who was good friends with Nixon. Ford won the approval of both houses by huge margins, and was sworn in as the 40th Vice President of the United States on December 6, 1973. In 1974, Ford ascended to the presidency after the Watergate scandal led to the resignation of President Nixon. United States vice presidential selection, 1973 In 1973, Republican Vice President Spiro Agnew was forced to resign following a controversy over his personal taxes. Under the terms of the 25th Amendment, a vice presidential vacancy is
Presidency of Richard Nixon and Governor Nelson Rockefeller of New York, who had a strong following among party moderates. At the August Republican National Convention in Miami Beach, Florida, Reagan and Rockefeller discussed joining forces in a stop-Nixon movement, with each hoping to be nominated in a brokered convention. No such movement materialized, and Nixon secured the nomination on the first ballot. He selected Maryland governor Spiro Agnew as his running mate, a choice which Nixon believed would unite the party, appealing to both Northern moderates and Southerners disaffected with the Democrats. The choice of Agnew was poorly received by many; a "Washington Post"