In a presidential system, a unity ticket is a form of

ticket balance In United States politics, balancing the ticket is a practice where a political candidate chooses a running mate, usually of the same party, with the goal of bringing more widespread appeal to the campaign. The term is most prominently used to des ...

in which a candidate and a

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pres ...

of separate political parties run on a single

ticket Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a to ...

. Candidates may retain their separate political parties for the duration of the election, or they may adopt a new party name to represent their unified platform. In a system where the running mate is next in line for the presidency, a unity ticket can cause a mid-term shift in policy if the president dies or is removed from office. Unity tickets are common during periods of

political realignment A political realignment, often called a critical election, critical realignment, or realigning election, in the academic fields of political science and political history, is a set of sharp changes in party ideology, issues, party leaders, regional ...

. The term ''unity ticket'' may sometimes be used more broadly for any political ticket that is meant to appeal to two different political factions. A unity ticket is distinct from a fusion ticket where multiple parties endorse a single candidate.

Brazil

Presidential tickets in Brazil commonly have two candidates of competing political parties, and as a result the

President of Brazil The president of Brazil ( pt, Presidente do Brasil), officially the president of the Federative Republic of Brazil ( pt, Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil) or simply the ''President of the Republic'', is the head of state and head o ...

and the

Vice President of Brazil The Vice President of Brazil ( pt, Vice-Presidente do Brasil), officially the Vice President of the Federative Republic of Brazil (''Vice-Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil''), or simply the ''Vice President of the Republic'' (''Vice-P ...

are often of different political parties. In

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Dilma Rousseff Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil, holding the position from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the first w ...

of the Workers' Party and

Michel Temer Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia (; born 23 September 1940) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and writer who served as the 37th president of Brazil from 31 August 2016 to 31 December 2018. He took office after the impeachment and removal from off ...

of the

Brazilian Democratic Movement The Brazilian Democratic Movement ( pt, Movimento Democrático Brasileiro, MDB) is a Brazilian political party. It is considered a "big tent party" and it is one of the parties with the greatest representation throughout the national territory, ...

were elected under the

With the Strength of the People With the Strength of the People ( pt, Coligação Com a Força do Povo), until 2014 named For Brazil to Keep on Changing ( pt, Para o Brasil Seguir Mudando, standard/colloquial ~ ), was a left-wing electoral coalition formed around the democratic ...

coalition. Following Rousseff's

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. I ...

and removal from office, Temer became president.

Taiwan

In the

2016 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2016 lists the national/federal elections held in 2016 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *7 January: Kirib ...

James Soong James Soong Chu-yu (born 16 March 1942) is a Taiwanese politician. He is the founder and current Chairman of the People First Party. Born to a Kuomintang military family of Hunanese origin, Soong began his political career as a secretary to ...

of the People First Party ran with Hsu Hsin-ying of the

Minkuotang The Minkuotang (MKT), also known as the Republican Party, was a political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). The party was established on 13 March 2015 by former Kuomintang legislative representative Hsu Hsin-ying, with the founding ass ...

Tanzania

Opposition candidate Augustino Mrema of

NCCR–Mageuzi The National Convention for Construction and Reform – Mageuzi, popularly known by its acronym NCCR–Mageuzi, is an opposition political party in Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muung ...

was to run on a unity ticket with a candidate from the

Civic United Front The Civic United Front (CUF; sw, Chama Cha Wananchi, ) is a liberal party in Tanzania. Although nationally based, most of the CUF's support comes from the Zanzibar islands of Unguja and Pemba. The party is a member of Liberal International. ...

in the 1995 general election, but the parties were unable to agree on a running mate and the Civic United Front ran its own ticket.

United States

Presidential elections

Prior to the ratification of the Twelfth Amendment, the presidential runner-up would be elected vice president. This resulted in

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Befor ...

of the

Federalist Party The Federalist Party was a conservative political party which was the first political party in the United States. As such, under Alexander Hamilton, it dominated the national government from 1789 to 1801. Defeated by the Jeffersonian Repub ...

winning the presidency while opponent

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nati ...

of the

Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early ...

became his vice president. The only unity ticket to win the presidency was the

National Union Party National Union may refer to: Political organisations *National Union (Chad), a political party *National Union (Chile), an alliance during the Government Junta of Chile (1924) *National Union Movement, a pro-Pinochet political party from 1983 to 1 ...

in the

1864 presidential election The 1864 United States presidential election was the 20th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 8, 1864. Near the end of the American Civil War, incumbent President Abraham Lincoln of the National Union Party easi ...

, which ran a unity ticket between

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

of the Republican Party and

Andrew Johnson Andrew Johnson (December 29, 1808July 31, 1875) was the 17th president of the United States, serving from 1865 to 1869. He assumed the presidency as he was vice president at the time of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Johnson was a D ...

of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. Lincoln's

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

resulted in Johnson taking office and drastically changing reconstruction era policy. Democrat

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...

considered choosing Republican John McCain as his running mate in the 2004 presidential election. In turn, John McCain gave serious consideration to a unity ticket with former Democrat

Joe Lieberman Joseph Isadore Lieberman (; born February 24, 1942) is an American politician, lobbyist, and attorney who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1989 to 2013. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was its nominee for V ...

in the 2008 presidential election. Several commentators suggested that the Democratic Party field a unity ticket with a moderate Republican to challenge

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

in 2020 and win the votes of

Never Trump Republicans The Never Trump movement, also called the #nevertrump, Stop Trump, anti-Trump, or Dump Trump movement, began as an effort on the part of a group of Republicans (known as Never Trump Republicans) and other prominent conservatives to prevent R ...

. Presidential unity tickets in the 21st century are often criticized as being unrealistic. Some notable third party runs have incorporated unity tickets: * In the 1856 presidential election, former president

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

of the Whig Party and

Andrew Jackson Donelson Andrew Jackson Donelson (August 25, 1799 – June 26, 1871) was an American diplomat and politician. He served in various positions as a Democrat and was the Know Nothing nominee for US Vice President in 1856. After the death of his father, Don ...

of the Democratic Party ran a third-party campaign under the

Know Nothing The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

ticket, carrying the state of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

. * In the

1924 presidential election The following elections occurred in the year 1924. Africa * Egyptian parliamentary election * Kenyan general election * Sierra Leonean general election * South African general election * Southern Rhodesian general election Asia * Ceylonese ...

Robert M. La Follette Robert Marion "Fighting Bob" La Follette Sr. (June 14, 1855June 18, 1925), was an American lawyer and politician. He represented Wisconsin in both chambers of Congress and served as the 20th Governor of Wisconsin. A Republican for most of his ...

of the Republican Party and Burton K. Wheeler of the Democratic Party ran a third-party campaign under the Progressive Party, carrying the state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. * In the 1968 presidential election,

George Wallace George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 45th governor of Alabama for four terms. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best remembered for his staunch segregationist an ...

of the Democratic Party and

Curtis LeMay Curtis Emerson LeMay (November 15, 1906 – October 1, 1990) was an American Air Force general who implemented a controversial strategic bombing campaign in the Pacific theater of World War II. He later served as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Air F ...

of the Republican Party ran a third-party campaign under the

American Independent Party The American Independent Party (AIP) is a far-right political party in the United States that was established in 1967. The AIP is best known for its nomination of former Democratic Governor George Wallace of Alabama, who carried five states in ...

, carrying five states. * In the 1980 presidential election, John B. Anderson of the Republican Party and

Patrick Lucey Patrick Joseph Lucey (March 21, 1918 – May 10, 2014) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th Governor of Wisconsin from 1971 to 1977. He was also independent presidential candidate John B. Anderson ...

of the Democratic Party ran an independent third-party campaign, carrying no states.

Statewide elections

Bill Walker Bill Walker may refer to: Australian rules football * Bill A. Walker (1886–1934), Australian rules footballer for Essendon * Bill Walker (Australian footballer, born 1883) (1883–1971), Australian rules footballer for Fitzroy * Bill J. V. Walke ...

of the Republican Party and

Byron Mallott Byron Ivar Mallott (April 6, 1943 – May 8, 2020) was an American politician, elder, tribal activist and business executive from the state of Alaska. Mallott was an Alaska Native leader of Tlingit heritage and the leader of the Kwaash Ké ...

of the Democratic Party were elected governor and lieutenant governor of

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S ...

. Democrat Patrick Murphy floated a gubernatorial campaign with Republican David Jolly in the

2018 Florida gubernatorial election The 2018 Florida gubernatorial election was held on November 6, 2018, to elect the next governor of Florida, alongside an election to the United States Senate, elections to the United States House of Representatives and other state and l ...

, but they ultimately did not run. When Republican

Bob Krist Robert J. Krist (born March 29, 1957) is an American politician who served as the Nebraska Legislature, Nebraska State Senator from the 10th district from 2009 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party until 2017 ...

launched an independent campaign in the

2018 Nebraska gubernatorial election The 2018 Nebraska gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the Governor of Nebraska, concurrently with the election of Nebraska's Class I U.S. Senate seat, as well as other elections to the United States Senate in othe ...

, it was speculated that he would run a unity ticket, but he eventually ran as the Democratic nominee with a Democratic running mate.

References

Election campaign terminology Voting theory

Brazil

Taiwan

Tanzania

United States

Presidential elections

Statewide elections

See also

References