Question: Why did FDR replace John Nance Garner as his running mate when he ran for reelection in 1940?
Answer: Garner opposed elements of FDR’s New Deal agenda—including the Wagner Labor Relations Act and the Social Security Act—and his plan to pack the Supreme Court to advance it. Garner also opposed FDR’s run for an unprecedented third term in 1940, and he became a candidate for the Democratic nomination himself. FDR outmaneuvered Garner at the party’s convention, and he replaced him with the more liberal Henry Wallace as his running mate.
