Warren was a dignified national political figure. Tall, broad-shouldered, of Scandinavian descent, he was a three-time winner of the California governorship and a former state attorney general. He had been the GOP vice-presidential candidate in 1948 and had a reputation as a moderate and a man of integrity. Warren had challenged Ike for the GOP presidential nomination in 1952, but this former political rivalry did not hurt his standing with Eisenhower, who, after the general election, told Warren that he hoped to appoint him to the first vacancy on the Supreme Court.
