<1908 1916> | ||
Turnout:15,935,762 | ||
Picture | ||
Nominee | Theodore Roosevelt | Woodrow Wilson |
Party | Republican | Democratic |
Running Mate | Hiram Johnson | William Jennings Bryan |
States Carried | 44 | 11 |
Popular Vote | 8,623,691 | 4,204,318 |
Percentage | 54.12% | 26.38% |
Picture | ||
Nominee | Eugene V. Debs | William Howard Taft |
Party | Socialist | Conservative |
Running Mate | Emil Seidel | Nicholas Murry Butler |
States Carried | 0 | 5 |
Popular Vote | 2,103,926 | 1,003,827 |
Percentage | 13.20% | 6.30% |
The 1912 election saw Theodore Roosevelt being elected for a 2nd term. His progressive principles caused a split in the republican party, some conservatives broke away to form a conservative party.
Republican Nomination[]
There was little doubt in the minds of many Republicans that Theodore Roosevelt would seek a second term. But although immensely popular with Republican voters, his radical policies made him hated by large party bosses. In 1908 Roosevelt had avoided a schism in the party by selecting William Howard Taft (a moderate conservative who had been one of his main opponents for the nomination) as his running mate. However Taft was pushed by party bosses and in May 1912 he resigned as vice president, announcing that he would challenge Roosevelt for the nomination at the republican convention in June.
Taft kept his promise, challenging Roosevelt (and along with Robert La Follette being the only republicans to do so) and losing on the first ballot. Taft received only 207 votes, La Follette 38 to Roosevelt's 761.
Roosevelt chose Gifford Pinchot, head of the national park service and a strong supporter of Roosevel'ts reforming policies, as his running mate (against the advice of his advisors). This blatant rejection of conservative elements in his party was what led 152 Taft delegates to leave the convention, declaring that the republican party had "abandoned its soul".