experience counts

[calimac]

Here's a list of the previous public office experience of each non-incumbent Republican Vice Presidential candidate since the end of WW2.

1948, Earl Warren: DA 14 yrs, state Attorney General 4 yrs, Governor 5+ yrs
1952, Richard Nixon: US House 4 yrs, US Senate 1+ yr
1960, Henry Cabot Lodge: state legislature 4 yrs, US Senate 13 yrs, Ambassador to UN 7 yrs
1964, William Miller: DA 3 yrs, US House 13+ yrs
1968, Spiro Agnew: county board 4 yrs, county executive 4 yrs, Governor 1+ yr
1976, Bob Dole: state legislature 2 yrs, DA 8 yrs, US House 8 yrs, US Senate 7+ yrs
1980, George Bush: US House 4 yrs, Ambassador to UN 2 yrs, Liaison to China 1 yr, CIA director 1 yr
1988, Dan Quayle: US House 4 yrs, US Senate 7+ yrs
1996, Jack Kemp: US House 18 yrs, Secretary of HUD 4 yrs
2000, Dick Cheney: White House Chief of Staff 1 yr, US House 10 yrs, Secretary of Defense 4 yrs
2008, Sarah Palin: city council 4 yrs, mayor 6 yrs, state commission chair 1 yr, Governor 1+ yr
2012, Paul Ryan: US House 13+ yrs
2016, Mike Pence: US House 12 yrs, Governor 3+ yrs
2024, JD Vance: US Senate 1+ yr

Notice that Vance is not the first one to have been in major office less than 2 years, but his predecessors in this distinction - Spiro Agnew and Sarah Palin, not an inspiring pair - at least had some previous local government experience under their belts.