U.S. presidential election, 1912

The U.S. presidential election of 1912 was fought among three major candidates, two of whom had served as President of the United States. Incumbent President William Howard Taft was nominated by the Republican party with the support of the establishment wing of the party, despite the fact that former President Theodore Roosevelt had won all but one of the Republican primaries; at the convention, the Republicans' progressive wing split off as the Bull Moose Party and nominated Roosevelt. Democrat Woodrow Wilson, nominated by his own Party on the 46th ballot of a contentious convention, defeated both in the general election, winning a vast majority in the Electoral College with only 42% of the popular vote, and initiating the only period between 1897 and 1933 when a Democrat would be elected President.

Legacy

Despite an impressive showing in 1912, the Bull Moose Party failed to establish itself as a viable third party, especially after Roosevelt's death in 1919. Still active on the state level, Progressives did not field another Presidential candidate until the run of Wisconsin Senator Robert M. La Follette, Sr. in the election of 1924.

Related Topics:
1919 - Robert M. La Follette, Sr. - The election of 1924

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