Several Republicans are vying to be Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate. The office of vice president has long been perceived as a political-career booster, making the veep a strong contender for the party’s next presidential nomination.

In reality, becoming the vice president may be a political-career ender, especially when the president is Trump. Just ask former Vice President Mike Pence.

It’s understandable why the veep slot would be attractive to ambitious politicians. There’s greatly increased name recognition, lots of media attention and easy access to the party’s major donors and political action committees. And a vice president who advocates for certain special interest groups can turn to them for future political support. Yet, it doesn’t appear that all of those benefits have actually helped many vice presidents win the presidency.

Since 1900 only one vice president has won the presidency when the sitting president left office: George H.W. Bush (R) in 1988. In addition, two former vice presidents eventually won the presidency: Richard Nixon (R) in 1968 and Joe Biden in........

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