From The Register-Guard:
An empirical study in 2010 by political scientists at the University of California, Irvine, found only one election in modern history in which the vice presidential choice caused more than 1 percent of voters to cross party lines - Democratic candidate George McGovern's selection of Thomas Eagleton in 1972, which was withdrawn after the Missouri senator's history of mental illness came to light. In all other cases, including Republican John McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008, the effect of the vice presidential choice was minimal.

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