John Nance Garner

John Nance Garner started as county judge in Uvalde County, Texas, then served in the state legislature before winning a U.S. House seat in 1902. He represented Texas's 15th district for three decades, climbing to Minority Leader in 1929 and Speaker in 1931 after Democrats took control. At the 1932 Democratic convention he traded his own presidential bid to join Roosevelt's ticket, and the pair won twice. Roosevelt leaned on Garner's legislative skills and political friendships to move New Deal bills through Congress, and Garner became the first vice president with an active Cabinet role. But by 1937 the conservative Southerner had soured on deficit spending, sit-down strikes, and federal overreach. He challenged Roosevelt for the 1940 nomination, lost, and left office. He lived another twenty-seven years, dying at ninety-eight - the longest-lived vice president in American history.