Plenty of would-be presidents have called Pennsylvania home, from Philander Knox and Milton Shapp to William Scranton and Rick Santorum.
But James Buchanan, long regarded by scholars as the worst or close-to-worst president in the countryâs history, is the only Pennsylvanian to make it all the way to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
The state hasnât fared much better when it comes to vice presidents.
Only one Pennsylvanian has stood a heartbeat away from the presidency. In March 1845, George Mifflin Dallas of Philadelphia was sworn-in to become President James Polkâs second-in-command. He came to the job with a sterling pedigree and a prodigious resume: the son of Alexander Dallas, the sixth U.S. Treasury secretary, Dallas was raised in privileged circumstances, and went on to serve in a host of appointed positions, including Philadelphia mayor, district attorney, attorney general of Pennsylvania and envoy to Russia. He was also a U.S. senator from Pennsylvania when they were selected by legislatures rather than chosen by voters.