1960 Democratic Party vice presidential candidate selection

The selection of the Democratic Party's vice presidential candidate for the 1960 United States presidential election occurred at the party's national convention on July 14, 1960. After winning the presidential nomination on the first ballot of the 1960 Democratic National Convention, Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy turned his attention to picking a running mate. Kennedy chose Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson, who had finished second on the presidential ballot, as his running mate. Johnson, a Protestant Texan, provided geographical and religious balance to a ticket led by a Catholic Northeasterner, but many liberals did not like the pick. Many were surprised both that Kennedy made the offer and that Johnson accepted the offer, as the two had been rivals for the 1960 presidential nomination. Some accounts had it that Kennedy had offered the position to Johnson as a courtesy and expected Johnson to decline the offer, and that when Johnson accepted, Kennedy sent his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, to talk Johnson out of accepting the offer. But Johnson biographer Robert Caro concluded that RFK was not acting on orders from JFK, who only authorized his brother to let Johnson know that there might be a floor fight over the nomination and give him the opportunity to demur.

However, Kennedy may have made the offer in earnest due to Johnson's appeal in the South, Johnson's friendly relationship with Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn, and Kennedy's desire to remove Johnson as Senate Majority Leader in favor of the more liberal Mike Mansfield. Regardless, Johnson decided that accepting the offer would be better for his political career and better position himself to become president, and so he chose to become Kennedy's running mate. The Democratic convention confirmed Johnson as the vice presidential nominee, although the delegation from Washington, D.C. attempted to select Minnesota Governor Orville Freeman instead.