1948 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection

This article lists those who were potential candidates for the Democratic nomination for Vice President of the United States in the 1948 election. At the 1948 Democratic National Convention, President Harry S. Truman won nomination for a full term. Truman had become president upon the death of his predecessor and 1944 running mate, Franklin D. Roosevelt. As the 25th Amendment had not yet been passed, there was no method for filling a vice presidential vacancy, and Truman served without a vice president during his first term. Truman's nomination faced significant opposition from the South, as did the party's platform on civil rights. Though Truman attempted to convince Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas to join the ticket, Douglas declined. Truman instead selected Senate Minority Leader Alben W. Barkley, the preferred choice of many Democratic delegates, and a border state Senator who could appeal to both the Northern and Southern wings of the party. The Truman–Barkley ticket won the 1948 election, defeating the Republican (Dewey–Warren), Progressive (Wallace–Taylor), and Dixiecrat (Thurmond–Wright) tickets.

Finalists

 * Senate Minority Leader Alben W. Barkley of Kentucky
 * Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas (declined)

Others

 * Secretary of Defense James Forrestal
 * Secretary of Commerce Averell Harriman
 * Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson
 * Massachusetts Representative John W. McCormack
 * Wyoming Senator Joseph C. O'Mahoney
 * Georgia Senator Richard Russell Jr.