Gerald Ford was not elected to executive office.
Gerald Ford . He was the first person appointed to the vice presidency under the terms of the 25th Amendment , and consequently the only person to have served as both Vice President and President of the United States without being elected to executive office . He narrowly lost the presidential election to the Democratic challenger , former Georgia Governor Jimmy Carter , making him the first President who succeeded to office as a result of a mid-term vacancy since Chester A. Arthur not to be elected in his own right .