 In 1952 , the Republicans chose Dwight D. Eisenhower as their presidential candidate , who then selected Nixon as his running mate , while the Democrats nominated Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson for president and Alabama Senator John Sparkman for vice president . The California delegation to the 1952 Republican National Convention , including Nixon , had been pledged to the state 's " favorite son " candidate , Governor Earl Warren , who hoped to gain the presidential nomination in a brokered convention . Warren failed in his attempt to gain the nomination , and his supporters alleged that Nixon had worked behind the scenes to nominate Eisenhower despite his pledge to support Warren , and accused him of political opportunism for accepting the vice presidential nomination . A disgruntled Warren supporter from Pasadena leaked the Fund story to several reporters . 
