A lot of the VP candidate talk (for both candidates) has focused on how the choice of a running-mate can affect the Electoral College math. The conventional wisdom is that a VP candidate can "carry" his/her homestate. I've long believed (and argued) that this is a myth, and should never be a factor in choosing a running-mate. At the very least, the potential for this "home state advantage" is so small that there are undoubtedly many other factors in the selection that should play a much more important role. For instance: choosing someone who would make a good President, appealing to a certain demographic, strengthening a vulnerable issue area, choosing something with media/campaigning chops, etc.
So I did a bit of a historical study into Vice Presidential candidates. My method was fairly simple. I took a look at a VP candidate's homestate's results and compared them to that state's results in the prior Presidential election and the results in the next Presidential election. (If a candidate ran for VP or the Presidency multiple times, I looked at the results for every election until they were no longer a candidate.)
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